Highschool DXD: The Masked Dragon Emperor
by Vizard Masky
Summary: Issei Hyoudou was just an average guy simply wanting to live life as it should be lived. But all of that will change as he gets killed by a fallen angel, reincarnated as a devil, and finds out about his Sacred Gear, and other power(s) within him. Non-perverted, strong, brave, somewhat shy Issei. Some Bleach elements. IsseixHarem. Follows anime & manga mostly. Slow updates
1. Prologue Chapter

Prologue chapter...

 **The Hyoudou Residence**

"Sigh..." A young man about 17 years of age with brown hair and brown eyes looks at a paper with a bored expression. "So this is my new School huh?" The young man asked himself.

"Issei?" Issei Hyoudou heard the voice of his mother and looked to the direction of where her voice was heard. She was accompanied with his father who both had a look of reassurance on their faces. "We know that you're used to your old school, but this one was the closest to our home, so we had to enroll you there."

Issei gave his parents a smile of appreciation and took another look at the paper. "Kuoh Academy eh?" The young man said to himself.

"Don't you worry one bit son, I'm sure you'll make some new friends." His father said to him, Causing Issei to scratch the back of his head in response. "and besides," his father continued, now grinning at his son, "Since this use to be an all girls school, there's a good chance you can finally get a girlfriend."

This caused Issei to blush a light shade of red. "Oh hardy har har!" replied the young man, only to earn a chuckle from his father and a giggle from his mother.

 **Timeskip: Kuoh Academy gates**

Issei was at the gates to his new school, Admiring the design of the building as he began. "Damn, it looks bigger than I thought it was gonna be." The school buildings had a unique looking design, almost as impressive as a mansion. He noticed some of the students chatting with each other and enjoying each other's company. After admiring the architecture, the young man made his way through the gates and into the building. As he entered, he was astonished with the interior of the school. He began making his way to the office to be confirmed as a new student at the school, but he had a hard time finding it.

After twenty seconds of wandering around the school, he gave up and decided to ask someone for directions. He noticed a girl with knee length black hair, light brown eyes, and was wearing blue glasses and decided to ask her for help. He approached the girl and politely asked, "Excuse me Miss, I'm a new student here and I'm having a hard time finding the office, can you please help me?"

She stared at him for a few seconds and then nodded. "Please follow me, my name is Tsubaki Shinra, and you are?"

Issei bowed to her before replying, "I'm Issei Hyoudou, it's nice to meet you." Issei didn't notice, but Tsubaki's cheeks turned light pink, almost hard for anyone to see. She then walked towards the direction of the office, with Issei following her lead,

Five minutes later, Tsubaki and Issei made it to the office. Issei bowed to her again and then said, "Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it." Tsubaki's cheeks had a darker pink to them right after he gave her his thanks, but she forced it down and bowed back to him before leaving him to sign up as a new student.

After signing up, he went to find his classroom, which was 2-B. After searching for a couple of minutes, he found the room and proceeded to knock on the door. The door was than opened by a middle-aged woman with short brown curly hair, purple eyes, and black glasses. "Oh!" The woman said. "You must be the new student here, correct? My name is Yuko and I'm your teacher for this class."

"Oh, umm, yes I am." Replied the young Hyoudou. 'So she's my teacher then eh?' he thought to himself.

"Please, come on in. We were just beginning class. Attention students, we have a new transfer student joining our class today, so be sure to get along with him. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself Hyouddou-san?"

Issei replied with a nod and went to the chalkboard to write his name and then introduce himself. After he wrote his name, he was nervous with a hint of pink in his cheeks as he introduced himself to his classmates. "Hello, my name's Issei Hyoudou, I hope we can all get along." He proceeded to bow to his classmates after his, in his opinion, average introduction.

But Yuko smiled to him and said, "Splendid, go ahead and take a seat next to that window over there." She pointed to an empty seat, which was in fact, next to a window. "Of course ma'am." As he proceeded to his seat, the students began whispering amoungst themselves about the new boy and how polite he was, though the polite part was what the girls of the classroom were talking about. Issei heard the whispers, but ignored them and proceeded to sit in his seat.

As class was in progress, two beautiful girls passed by the class Issei was in, and one girl looked at the young Hyoudou with an interested look on her face. The girl who looked at him had crimson-red hair, blue-green eyes, and a bust that some men in the school simply adore. The other girl next to her had black hair tied in a ponytail that reached her knees, violet eyes, and a bust that rivaled the Crimson haired girl's. "Did someone catch your interest Rias?" asked the pony tailed girl.

"Indeed Akeno. Who is that boy with the brown hair who transferred to this school?" The now named Crimson haired girl, Rias asked Akeno.

"Oh, that cutie? His name's Issei Hyoudou, 2nd year transfer student. Why? Something interesting about him?"

Rias now had a thinking face on while putting a hand to her chin. "Indeed. Not only do I sense a powerful sacred gear, but I feel another great power from him as well." Rias came to a conclusion in her mind and nodded to herself. "After school, I want you, Kiba, and Koneko to keep an eye on him. He's got quite the potential."

"Of course." replied Akeno as they went ahead to their class.

'Issei Hyoudou, What could you be capable of?' Rias asked herself in her thoughts.

 **To be continued...**

 **Hello folks! This is my first FanFiction so far. This fic will have a different Issei Hyoudou who's non-perverted, brave, and somewhat shy at times. And of course, It will have a Bleach element or more. I hope to make more chapters for this story because A. I like the idea of Issei having Hollow powers he'll eventually have to master, and B. No one has tried this yet. Well, except for TheGRproject's fanfic: DXD: Soul Eater, and Yuudai1224's "Feeling Hollow Issei?". But those ended abruptly. Also, School's coming up for me this September, and because of that, I won't be able to work on it to the point there will be a new chapter every week or month. Until next time folks. :)**


	2. Chapter 1: Awkward occurrences

Chapter 1: awkward occurrences

 **Friday; Kuoh Academy; after school**

The first week of school went surprisingly well for Issei Hyoudou. His English class work was a walk in the park since his parents helped him out on that subject after school, Math class wasn't his favorite, but he was able to pull it off pretty good, Science was a headache for him at times, but was able to perform the subject well, and History class was the one he was confident with the most. He learned about a war called Word War I and was fascinated with how war can be a scary scenario for people, and in his opinion, this particular war proved it. His favorite part of learning this war was an area for it called No Man's Land. In his opinion, this was an area where no one can survive there.

After school ended, he took some time to relax and look up in the sky while sitting on the ground while after school activities were occurring. When he was seven years old, he would always look at the clouds and see what each one would look like. It can take a form of an animal, an artifact, etc. Whatever form a cloud that comes across Issei's eyes may take, it would always put a smile on his face. To his surprise, he found a really huge cloud that took a form of a dragon, and he was amazed with how it looked. Without hesitation, he got out his phone to take a picture of said cloud and saved it as his phone's screensaver, letting a satisfied chuckled escape his lips.

Right after his screensaver setup, he heard some girls squealing in delight and turned to the direction of the girls. They all had blushes on their cheeks as they came across a young man that appeared to be Issei's age with blonde hair, grey eyes, and a mole that appeared under his left eye. "Hey Kiba-kun, if you're free, would you like to go karaoke with us?" One of the girls asked the blonde man.

"I'm sorry," Kiba apoligized, "I have club activities today, so I won't be able to go karaoke with you girls. But thanks for the offer though."

The girls proceeded to go "aww" in dissapointment in Kiba's reply.

Issei chuckled to himself seeing this. 'This must be their prince charming eh?' Issei asked in his head. Finished with cloud seeing, he decided to go for a walk around the school to get a good feel for his surroundings.

As Issei was walking, he suddenly heard the sound of boys giggling about something. Finding it suspicious, he decided to hide where the boys would not see him so he could get a listen to what they're up to. He was not happy with what he heard.

"Wow Murayama, your tits are looking so sexy today!" one boy said.

"Indeed!" the other boy agreed. "82-70-81!" Issei didn't know what the numbers were for, but he didn't like it. not one bit at all. "Katase has some great legs and beautiful feet! 78.5-69-79!"

"I'm so happy we found this spot!"

"Hell yeah bro! I'm with you all the way!"

Deciding that he was fed up with such talk, Issei went to confront the two boys and put an end to whatever they were doing.

"Hey! You two!" Issei shouted to them while approaching them, scaring the 2 boys that were near a wall.

"Whoa! It's the noobie!" the bald boy said.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" the one with the glasses asked in shock.

"I'll be the one asking the questions around here pal!" Issei snapped at them. He then proceeded to point at the wall they were near. "First question, what's up with that hole in the wall you two were hanging around at? You! The Baldy! Answer!"

The bald one was stammering as he answered, "Oh! umm... Th-th-that's a peep hole that l-leads to the girl's changing rooms for the k-k-k-kendo club."

"Oh really? Is that SO?!" Issei delivered a swift kick to the bald boy's face at the same time he said "SO", causing the pervert to fly back a few feet. Issei continued the interrogation. "Second question, just what the hell were you two perverts doing near that peep hole? You're turn to answer, Four-eyes!"

The pervert with the glasses swallowed a lump before answering, "W-W-We were peeping at the girls to g-get a g-g-g-good look at their good s-stuff."

immediately after answering, he was greeted with a hard punch on the top of his head, sending his head to the ground and creating a small crater from his head. "This has got to be a fucking joke!" Issei shouted in disgust and proceeded to stomp on the four-eye's head five times, making the crater bigger than it once was. Issei didn't notice, but there was a certain blonde-haired boy watching his actions in surprise behind a tree.

"I can't believe you fucking lechers would go this far just to satisfy yourselves! It's no wonder you two can't get a girlfriend! You two have NO RESPECT FOR A WOMAN'S PRIVACY!" The two bruised perverts were holding each other for their lives from this brown haired boy, afraid of what he's gonna do to them next. "I don't wanna see you two near that wall again!" Issei continued, "If I catch you, or find out from someone that you peeped through there again, you can expect a certain thing down there to get DISLOCATED!" The two perverts screamed and then ran for their lives from the brown-haired teen while covering their crotches after his threat. A few seconds later, Issei sighed to himself and thought, 'While I may have scared them from continuing their perverted actions, I have no doubt they'll peep here again.'

"Hyoudou-kun?" Issei heard someone call his name and turned around to see who called him. He saw the girls in kendo gear. Two of them he recognized as his classmates: One was Katase, who had pink hair, and the other was Murayama, who had brown hair tied in two ponytails.

"Is there something I can help you girls with?" he asked politely.

"We'd like to thank you for chasing the perverted duo away. They're always peeping at us and it's driving us crazy." Murayama was the one who answered Issei.

Issei simply smiled. "Don't mention it, it's your privacy and you girls deserve to have it. If anything, you should worry about that peep hole. I reccomend getting it sealed up somehow because I have no doubt those bastards will be at it again." Issei bowed to the girls before taking his leave home.

"Thanks again Hyoudou-kun!" Katase said to Issei, only for him to turn his head and smile to her.

"Not a problem Katase-san, and please, call me Issei, I'm alright with that."

About three seconds after he left the kendo girls began talking about the young Hyoudou with blushes on their cheeks. "Wow! what a sweet boy!"

"He's pretty cute and handsome too! Though not as handsome as Kiba-kun though."

While the girls continued talking about Issei, Katase and Murayama came to an agreement on something. They need to make sure Issei doesn't get "corrupted" by the perverted duo. He helped them, and they wish to return the favor.

 **Afternoon on the bridge**

Issei was relaxing on a bridge, taking a good look at how pretty the sky was in the afternoon. He was then interrupted by a voice of a girl.

"Excuse me? Are you Issei Hyoudou from Kuoh Academy?"

Issei turned to his left to discover that there was a girl about his age with raven black hair, violet eyes, and was wearing a uniform different from Kuoh's. 'Hmm? What school is she from? And what does she want with me?' Deciding to be friendly, he replied with, "Yes, I am."

This time, the girl was blushing and responded with, "Hi, I'm Yuuma Amano. It's nice to meet you."

Issei found this situation he's in really odd, and decided to ask her a question, "So... Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, sort of... Are you seeing someone right now?"

Issei raised an eyebrow at her question and replied with, "Not at the moment. Why?"

"I see! So.. In that case... Do you wanna go out with me?"

This time, Issei was really suspicious and replied with, "Come again?"

Yuuma continued speaking, with her blush still intact. "You see, you come here a lot and when I first looked at you, I became interested because of how cute you looked... And... Well..."

"Look, Amano-san, I know where this is going, and I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline your offer."

Issei gave it to her straight, while being as polite with her as possible. Yuuma on the other hand was surprised at his response.

Issei continued from there. "Don't get me wrong Amano-san, you're a beautiful girl, it's just that we don't know each other that well. You should know better not to walk up to someone and go 'will you go out with me' out of the blue. What if that person you ask out was a rapist, or someone who has any bad intentions at all? If you want to start a special relationship with someone, it's best you get to know them well, with their interests, personality, etc. I'm not trying to make you sad about this rejection Amano-san, I just want to ensure your safety on how you develop your relationships, even if that person you first laid eyes on is cute and nice."

Issei didn't want to hurt Yuuma's feelings with his rejection, he wasn't wrong about the things he said either, it is a cruel world out there. Five seconds later, Issei Bowed to Yuuma and then said, "If you'll excuse me, I have to get home and have dinner. I hope you have a good Day, Amano-san." With day Issei walked on home, while Yuuma looked down to her feet in disappointment.

"I don't blame you..." She whispered.

As Issei and Yuuma went there separate ways, they didn't notice a girl with white hair with a cat hair clip on it and hazel eyes observing the scene. 'Better report this to Buchou.' The girl thought to herself.

 **Old School building**

"I see, so he rejected her offer?" Rias asked, sitting at her desk. The girl with white hair replied to her with a nod. Rias smiled to her and said, "You did well Koneko."

"What shall we do now Buchou?" The blonde boy asked to Rias.

"For now Kiba, we'll keep a closer eye on him during the weekend. I'll have my familiar give him a flier when she comes in contact with him during any day of the weekend. Until then, you're all dismissed for the rest of the night."

"Yes Ma'am." Koneko, Kiba, and Akeno said in unison.

After they all went home, Rias thought to herself, 'We'll be keeping an eye on you, Issei Hyoudou. If what Kiba discovered about you was true, then maybe, just maybe, I'll finally be rid of _'him'_.'

 **Timeskip: Sunday 12:30 PM**

"Alright, I'm off folks." Issei said to his parents. He was currently wearing brown shorts with a Deadpool T-shirt and an opened blue flannel over top.

"Ok sweetie, have a safe time." His mother replied.

"And good luck finding a girlfriend son." his father said with a toothy grin, earning himself a bonk on the head from a blushing Issei.

"Will you knock it off already?!" His father only replied by laughing. After exchanging goodbyes, and double checking to see if he had his wallet with him, Issei set out to take a stroll around the town. As he got to the streets of Kuoh town, he saw a woman approach her with a basket containing some papers.

She took one out and handed it to him, saying "Please take this."

Wanting to be nice to her, he took it from her and said, "Thank you Miss. I guess..."

The woman responded by smiling to him and took her leave.

Issei took a quick look at the paper. It had some kind of symbol that had words to go with the symbol. Issei read the following words: "Your wish will be granted." Issei raised an eyebrow at this and stored the paper in his back pocket. 'She must be some cultist nut job or something.' he thought to himself, and he began his weekend stroll.

Issei did what he usually does when he's taking weekend strolls: He took a look at the manga shop to see what new manga is available and did the same procedure at a video game shop and a film shop. He then went to the arcade to play some of his favorite games like Donkey Kong, Berzerk, I, robot, and Marble Madness. After having all of that fun, he went to a nearby Chick-Fil-A and ordered himself a twelve count nugget meal. Can you blame him? It's the peanut oil that makes the nuggets so good.

After finishing his meal, he continued to walk around town admiring the atmosphere when suddenly...

"Didn't you hear me? I said no you creep!"

Issei stopped in his tracks to hear a voice expressing her annoyance towards someone. He looked towards where the source of the voice and discovered that there was a girl with brown hair tied in two pigtails and hazel eyes wearing pink glasses. She was wearing a Red T-shirt and a teal skirt as her attire.

"Come on babe, you don't know what you're missing out on." said a man that looked about a year or two older than Issei and looked like a thug, who began to place his hand on her shoulder, only for her to swat it away. However, this enraged the man as he grabbed her wrist and held on to it tightly. The girl tried to escape, but was unable to due to how hard the thug was holding onto her wrist.

"If I were you, I'd let go of that girl and walk away. Right. Now." The girl and thug looked to the source of what sounded like a young man, and discovered that it was Issei Hyoudou, fed up with the display he's looking at here.

The girl immediately recognized this boy. 'Hey, that's the new kid that goes to my class. What was his name? Oh, right, Issei Hyoudou. But what's he doing here? He's gonna get himself hurt.'

"You mind your own business punk! Or I'll kick your teeth in!" The thug was not pleased with Issei trying to be a hero.

"No." The young man immediately replied. "You're disrespecting this girl's free will and trying to force her to do what YOU want. And I WON'T tolerate such disrespect!"

"Ooooh, we got ourselves a little sheriff!" The thug let go of the girl's arm and started to approach Issei with an angry expression. "You're gonna regret picking a fight with me ya little punk!" The girl was obviously worried about Issei because he is her classmate and she doesn't want him to be all bloody since he's still to young to die. The thug began to charge at him and then suddenly...

BAM!*

"OOOFF!"

The girl's eyes widened in shock to see that Issei Has kneed the thug right in the stomach. What surprised her the most? Issei actually managed to hurt him. In fact, it was so painful, the thug actually coughed up blood from how hard the impact was. A few seconds later, he dropped to the ground face first, which gave Issei a chance to stomp on his head, creating a small crater near bigger than the thug's head.

Issei then waited for the thug to get up, and he did just that, with a bloody nose and some blood near his lips. "Y-you bastard!" The thug shouted. He attempted to punch Issei, but Issei dodged at the right moment, grabbed the thug by the collar of his shirt and...

POW!*

Issei punched the thug straight in the face and sent him flying far away from him and the girl. Six seconds has passed when Issei finally spoke up. "Don't push my buttons pal."

The girl was left astonished by Issei's ability to fight, and how strong he was too, to be able to send the thug flying far away from him. "T-t-thanks for saving me Hyoudou-kun." was all she could say to him. She was still amazed with what she just witnessed before her eyes.

"No problem, Miss. I was just... Wait, How do you know who I am?" Issei was surprised to find out this girl actually knew him.

"Oh that's right," the girl replied, "You never noticed me since you were too busy being engrossed with WWI. My name's Aika Kiryuu, and I'm your classmate in room 2-B. It's a pleasure to finally meet you since it's the weekend." The now named Aika was sticking her hand in front of him for him to shake, which caused him to have some pink in his cheeks, but decided to shake her hand anyway.

"O-of course, Kiryuu-san."

"Oh no please, Call me Aika-san. or Aika-chan. Whichever works for you." Aika responded with a wink, causing Issei to blush a mid-dark shade of red.

"Oh, um.. ok. then please, call me Issei. It's only fair since you're allowing me to call you by your first name."

"Done and done, Issei-kun" Aika said and then giggled at how Issei can have a shy side through all the badass stuff he does. "Anyway, I better get going. My friends Katase-san and Murayama san invited me to practice Kendo with them so I don't have to put up with anymore creeps like that punk who you kicked his ass."

"Ok, take care Aika-san." Issei shared a goodbye and Aika waved to him in response.

Five seconds later, Issei sighed and thought to himself, 'So she's my classmate huh? Can't believe I didn't notice her in my classes. Oh well, guess that's what I get for staying focused on my school work, especially History.' With that, Issei went ahead and continued his stroll around the town. However, he didn't notice a girl with black hair tied in a ponytail with violet eyes, peeping from the telephone booth and witnessed everything she saw, including the entire fight between him and the thug.

"Ara ara, such aggression and brutality. ufufufufu." Akeno laughed to herself with a blush on her cheeks.

 **Timeskip: 8:30 PM**

Issei was sitting on a bench at a park looking at the stars at night for a quick few minutes before returning home. He was mostly surprised with the moon. "Whoa, I had no idea the moon could be this red. What is it, A nighttime Eclipse or something?" Either way, he decided to take out his phone and take a picture of the moon so he can remember this moment. After taking the picture, he got up from the bench and started making his way home. He was about five miles from the park when...

"Well well well, if it isn't the boy who rejected her offer on being her boyfriend."

Issei jumped when he heard a voice of a woman and turned around to see who it was. To his surprise, it was a woman who looked about two years older than him with orange hair that reached down her neck, had cobalt eyes, and appeared to be wearing some kind of military clothing with combat boots. She had an evil looking smile on her face as she looked at Issei, which made him more suspicious than ever.

"I must admit Issei, it was quite smart of you. However, your time has come."

Issei widened his eyes at the last sentence she said and wanted some answers. "Who are you and how do you know who I am?!" he confronted to the mysterious woman.

Her evil smirk grew bigger. "My name is Rika. Remember this name because that's the last one you'll ever know."

Issei widened his eyes in shock as the now named Rika suddenly sprouted out black feathered wings from her back. She then began to form something out of some kind of light. Eventually it became... 'a spear?!'

"I almost feel bad for doing this since you are a cute looking boy, but you're a danger to us and therefore have to be taken care of." She threw the spear at Issei, intending to hit him.

However, Issei knew what she was trying to do and dodged the light spear before it could pierce him. But it did hit his right cheek, making a small cut on it. Rika was left surprised at his action, but then scowled as she formed another spear. She planned to try again to hit him, but...

BAM!*

her face collided with Issei's fist as he punched her there, and she flew back a few feet from the collision.

"If you think you can murder me you got another thing coming you freak!"

After Issei shouted those words to Rika, he made a run for it.

Rika, who now has a bloody nose, got up from the punch and began to fly after the young man. As Issei continued to run, he heard a voice from behind him.

"You can run, but you can't hide boy!" It was that Rika chick. who was after the boy she plans on killing. She formed two light spears in both her hands and threw them at him. But Issei dodged them effortlessly. Well, almost. He dodged the first one with no problem at all, but as he dodged the other spear, it managed to hit him in his left shoulder making a bigger cut than his right cheek's cut. Issei continued to pick up the pace until she finally lost the black feathered winged woman. Rika was in disbelief that the boy, who was human by the way, was able to dodge her spears so perfectly and outrun her as well. The chase continued until Issei found himself at the gates of his school, Kuoh Academy. Out of options, and because he was desperate, he climbed over the gates and hid in the baseball court.

Issei was in disbelief at what was happening while he was holding his left shoulder in pain. A woman who had black feathered wings for some reason wants him dead. But why? He did remember this Rika woman saying that he was some kind of danger. That part he didn't understand. Sure, He'll beat the crap out of anyone wanting to cause harm, but he would never want to kill. Could that be the danger Rika was talking about?

Before he could think of anymore paranoid thoughts, he was interrupted by the sound of that same voice calling to him.

"Issei. Come out come out wherever you are! Like I said, you _can't_ hide because I can sense your presence. So I'll give you a chance to come out yourself before I hunt you down!"

Issei was conflicted. He knew that if he did come out, he'll die, but if he didn't he'll die anyway since she said something about detecting someone's presence. He read plenty of manga to know what she meant by that, and she wasn't a normal human being. But as he was having a hard time figuring out what to do, he saw something out the corner of his eye. He found a silver baseball bat near his right foot in his hiding spot. 'Someone must've left it there after baseball practice.' After a few seconds of looking at the bat, he came to a conclusion for himself: if he wanted to live, he was gonna have to fight for it. Without hesitation, he picked up the bat and then proceeded to exit his hiding spot, only to meet Rika herself standing in the middle of the baseball field.

"I see you decided to come out. Ooohh, you decided to arm yourself too. Well sorry to break it to you dear, but this is as far as you will go." Issei had a look of determination, and decided to ask the winged woman a question.

"Why do you even want me dead anyway? It's not like I could have the guts to take a life, or anything that would make me a danger to you!"

Rika giggled to his question and then replied, "Since you made it this far, it's only fair that I give you an answer. You see, we detected something very powerful within you, and we were afraid you could go amuck with said power, so if you wanna blame someone for your upcoming death, then blame God for giving you a Sacred Gear."

'Sacred... Gear?' Issei didn't understand what she meant by such a gear, but dismissed it because he wanted to live for another day. With his hair hiding his eyes, he took a fighting stance with the bat, only for Rika to laugh at this scene.

"You're gonna take me on with such a tool? You're such a fool! You're nothing more than a mere human and therefore I have you outcl-"

POW!*

Issei shut her up by swinging the bat right in her stomach, ignoring the pain in his left shoulder, causing her to cough up blood and collide to a nearby wall. Rika then fell to the ground clutching her stomach in pain and utter disbelief. "What the hell?! He actually managed to hurt me! But How?! He's nothing more than a human and yet he was able to put me in such pain, with a simple baseball bat too! This just isn't right! IT MAKES NO SENSE!" Rika got up from the attack and conjured up a light spear. But instead of throwing it, she charged at him aiming for his heart while screaming, "DON'T FUCK WITH ME HUMAN!" Issei however, dodged to the right and hit her in the stomach again, making her cough up some more blood, and then hit the back of her head with the bat, sending her colliding with the ground and making a small crater from her head.

'Christ, why do craters keep forming from people's heads as they fall really fast and hard to the ground?' Issei asked in his head.

He thought it was finally over, unfortunately for him, she got up from the attack on her knees, all bruised up due to how much damage he caused her. "D-D-Damn you!" She cursed to Issei, who was about to deliver the final blow.

But something in Issei told him not to do it. While it is true that she was considered by most people including himself, not normal, it would still count as murder. Even if it was self defense, how will he live with himself after taking her life? He lowered the bat, with his hair covering his eyes once again. "Go back to wherever the hell you came from."

"What?" Rika was surprised at his sudden words.

"You heard me, even if you aren't a normal human, I can't find myself killing you. I could never kill anyone. Even if this 'Sacred Gear' was dangerous, then I would do whatever I can to get control of it and use it for a good cause. So please, just go back and leave me alone."

Rika slowly got up from her spot, her hair hiding her eyes. Issei proceeded to walk away and head towards the exit of the school. As he was near the exit of the baseball field, he suddenly felt pain in his stomach from behind.

"You expect me to just let you walk away you damn human?" It was Rika, she didn't head his words and decided to go for the attack while his back was turned. She proceeded to grab his neck and slam him on the ground on his back. She got on top of him, conjured up another light spear, and said to him with an evil looking grin "I want to enjoy the look on your face when I turn you into a corpse!"

This was the end of the line for Issei, he was bleeding and had no strength left to fight back. 'Mom, Dad, I'm sorry, but this is it for me.'

"Step away from the boy, Fallen Angel Rika."

Rika heard an unknown voice from behind her. She turned around and widened her eyes to see a red-haired woman who appeared to be a third year in school. "Rias Gremory?! W-W-What are you doing here?!"

The now named Rias smiled to Rika, who was now known as a Fallen Angel. "This kouhai of mine is under my protection, and I will not allow you to kill him." Rias began emitting a crimson colored aura which caused Rika to back away from the near-death-state Issei.

After five seconds of Rias and Rika staring at each other, Rika began to take flight and stare down to the redhead. "I'm guessing you're going to reincarnate him as your servant huh?" The bruised Fallen Angel asked Rias, only for the redhead herself to stare at her. "Very well. Do what you want. But keep in mind Rias Gremory, if I ever see him in my sights again, I _will_ go for the kill."

Rias simply smirked and responded, "I'll make sure that doesn't happen then."

Rika went "Hmph." and flew away from the school, leaving Rias with Issei, who was bleeding out from the spear.

"You've fought well, Issei Hyoudou. I was even more surprised to find out how much damage you were able to cause on the Fallen Angel." Issei could only stare at her, unable to talk due to the profuse bleeding. Rias proceeded to reach into her pocket book, and out came 8 chess pieces that looked the same as each other in her hand. She proceeded to place each piece on Issei's body and proceeded to perform some kind of ritual. "From this moment forward, you will live for me, Issei Hyoudou."

 **Monday; 6:00 AM**

 ***Beep* *Beep* *Beep*** *Click* "Uuggh." Issei was not feeling like himself today. He felt heavy due to what he thinks is a lack of sleep. But he was able to at least gain his senses of where he was, and he was in shock. He woke up in his room. but how? Didn't that woman that Rias-senpai for some odd reason call a fallen angel stab him in the back and attempted to finish him off? He quickly ran to his wardrobe to find the clothes he wore yesterday, and sure enough they were in there. But what made him surprised was they looked just like new, like they weren't torn up at all. He also went ahead and took off jacket and shirt of his uniform to notice that there was no scar on his left shoulder, nor was there on his right cheek. "Was it all a dream?" Issei asked himself.

"Issei, breakfast is ready!"

Hearing his mother's voice, he replied with, "Coming mother."

 **Kuoh Academy entrance**

"Look! It's the Prince of Justice!" The girls who attend the academy noticed that Issei, who they now call Kuoh Academy's Prince of Justice after what he did to the perverted duo, making his way towards the school. Issei on the other hand, was feeling like a zombie today. He didn't know why, but the sun felt like some kind of kryptonite to him. But that wasn't gonna stop him from attending school today.

Meanwhile, the girls continued talking about him with blushes on their cheeks. "Oh my. He's looking quite handsome today."

"I think he's more of a cutie than a handsome boy."

"I heard he saved a student that goes here from some creep."

Issei however was too tired to notice the kind words the girls were saying about him, and the jealous stares from the boys and just kept moving forward.

 **Timeskip: After school**

Issei was on his way home from his classroom and was near the doors that lead out of the school, still tired due to the sun, for some odd reason. As he was about to head to the doors, he bumped into someone, on accident of course. it took a couple of seconds for him to realize he bumped into the same girl who helped him find his way to the office to sign up as a new student. He immediately bowed to her and said, "I'm sorry Shinra-senpai. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Tsubaki blushed a light shade of pink at his apology, but brushed it off saying, "No, it's quite alright." Issei bowed to her again before taking his leave. "Hey, Hyoudou-kun?"

Issei turned back to her and replied, "Yes?"

"You look as if you didn't get any sleep. Are you feeling alright?"

"Sorry Senpai", responded Issei, "I might sound crazy for telling you this, but every time I'm near the sun, or it's light, I feel really tired, my parents asked me if I was ok, but I assured them that I was fine. To be honest with you, I don't know what's happening to me." Issei doesn't know how she'll respond, but he had to give her the truth.

Tsubaki on the other hand, understood what he was talking about. She thought about it for a moment, and then decided to tell him something that would hopefully help him. "I had that kind of feeling too once."

Issei was surprised to hear her say that. "Really? You have?"

"Indeed." Replied Tsubaki. "Although, I didn't know what it was, I too had that same condition you have right now. It was three years ago that it occurred."

Issei was interested and wanted to know how to, cure himself, he guessed. "Do you know how to feel better from this condition?"

"All I know is that for me it took about two days to feel better from it."

Issei smiled and bowed to her after her answer, causing her to question why he's doing said action. "Thank you very much for the information Shinra-senpai."

"Huh?" Tsubaki wondered why he was thanking her.

Issei got up from his bow and smiled to her with his eyes closed saying, "I'm so glad I'm not the only one who had such a mysterious condition."

Tsubaki blushed at his kind nature. She had heard from the other students about how he beaten up the perverted duo for peeping at the kendo club, but she also knew he was a polite boy as well. Tsubaki forced her blush down before Issei opened his eyes.

"I'll be sure to tell my parents about how this condition I have works. that way they won't have to worry too much about me." Issei bowed to her again and took his leave. As he opened the door, he turned back to Tsubaki with a kind smile and said, "I'm really grateful to to you, Shinra-senpai. Not only did you help me find my way to the office so I can sign up as a new student, but you also gave me details on the mysterious condition. I'm gonna have to repay you somehow."

Right after he said that and turned his head away to leave, Tsubaki blushed an even brighter red. Before she could say anything to him, he already left. She forced her blush down again and headed to her next destination, but not without whispering to herself two words. "Sweet boy."

 **Timeskip: Tuesday, Kuoh Academy, After school**

Issei told his parents about the mysterious condition yesterday and how another student told him how she had the same condition. Of course, because of the 'she' part, his father teased him about her being her girlfriend, making Issei bonk him on the head for saying that. Meanwhile, Issei was leaning on a wall in the school relaxing for awhile before heading home. 'Only 1 day left.' he thought to himself, talking about the mysterious condition of course.

"Yo! Issei-kun!" Issei turned to his right to see Aika waving to him while approaching him.

Issei waved back to her and said, "Hey Aika-san, what's up?"

Aika proceeded to lean on the same wall next to him and smiled to him. "I just wanted some time to talk to my hero from two days ago." Aika then giggled after saying that and pushed her glasses up.

Issei blushed at that and said, "Please, don't worry about it, I was glad to help out. Heh heh heh."

Afterwards they started chatting with each other, they talked about their interests, their favorite manga and TV series, favorite video games, etc. They had a lot in common with most things so far, and they were enjoying the conversation.

"So, Issei-kun, I was wondering something," Aika asked him with a smile on her face, "If you're able to, would you like to practice some kendo with me?"

Issei raised an eyebrow at that, but Aika noticed and continued, "Don't worry, I asked my friends, Katase-san and Murayama-san, and they said they would love to have you practice with us. Those were their words not mine."

Issei thought about it for a moment, and then replied, "As much as I'd like to Aika-san, I can't. At least not today anyway. I feel really tired so I won't be able to be at my top game when it comes to kendo." He thought it was a kind offer Aika gave him, but due to his 'condition', he had to refuse.

"That's alright," Aika said, "It can be anytime any day. There's no time limit here."

Issei smiled and chuckled in response.

"Look everyone, It's the two Great Onee-samas!" Issei and Aika turned to where a random boy was pointing for them to see both Rias and Akeno walking down the stairs. Immediately, comments from the boys and the girls about how beautiful they were were already being said. Issei on the other hand, had a puzzled face, specifically for Rias. He knew who she, along with Akeno were from last week since people, mostly the boys were talking about them. However, he could've sworn she saw her in his 'dream' about being attacked by a 'Fallen Angel'. He widened his eyes a little bit because he also thought the redhead looked right at him with only her eyes since her head was still looking forward as the two third years walked past him.

"Such beauties, huh, Issei-kun?" Issei was snapped out of his thoughts as Aika asked him that question in a teasing tone.

"Y-Y-Yeah. I will admit they are quite charming."

"'Quite charming'? Some description there." Aika responded, and then laughed while patting him on the shoulder three times, causing his cheeks to turn a little red.

"A-Anyway, I better head home, my parents are probably wondering where I am" Issei then took his leave while waving goodbye to her, as she did the same.

"Alright. Later Issei-kun!" As Issei left her sight, she began to think to herself, 'No wonder some of the girls are after him, even with him being brave and tough and beating up the pervy duo and saving me from a thug, he's also got a shy personality. And besides,' Aika pushed up her glasses while having a blush on her cheeks, 'He's pretty big down there' She then proceeded to giggle as she thought that last part.

 **Timeskip: 8:30 PM**

Issei went out for a quick nighttime stroll. He told his parents he was doing so before leaving of course. And yes, his father teased him about this whole girl thing, earning himself another bonk on the head. As he was walking, he noticed that he felt amazing. He felt more energetic than he was at daytime, and he had really sensitive hearing. He found out when he heard a voice of a mother and her child.

"Hey Mama, the Carnival was fun, can we go back there someday?"

"Well, we'll have to see dear. If we go there to much, it will get boring."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense Mama."

'What the hell? How am I able to hear them from such a distance?' Issei shrugged it off and continued walking. His next destination: home. Five minutes has passed, when suddenly he heard a voice of what he assumed a middle aged man.

"So, you're still alive."

Issei turned around quickly to see that it was indeed, a middle aged man with short black hair and dark blue eyes. His attire consists of a grey trench coat, almost like the one in the game Issei played: Bloodborne, over a white dress with matching paints, a Black Fedora, and black dress shoes. "What do you mean by 'still alive'?" Issei questioned the man, Only for him to go "Heh." at his question.

"I see you haven't figured it out yet, so I might as well give it to to you straight." The man begun to speak, "You are no longer what humans consider 'normal'."

As he said that, a pair of black feathered wings appeared on his back, making Issei gasp. 'those are the same wings that that Rika girl had in my dream.' He thought to himself. 'But I'm awake now, and I'm seeing the same kind of wings on that man's back. What the hell's going on?!'

His thoughts were cut short when he heard the man continue to talk. "And you are in position of a special artifact that we Fallen Angels are currently fearing."

Hearing this, he decided to use his dream to find out what he meant by 'special artifact' and asked the man, "You mean my Sacred Gear that Rika girl was talking about in one little nightmare I had two days ago?" The Man laughed at Issei's question, making Issei raise an eyebrow at that. "What's so funny?" he asked the man, now feeling rather annoyed at the situation.

The man answered his question with an evil looking smirk. "Sorry to break it to you kid, but your encounter with Rika was reality, we Fallen angels, as well as Devils and regular angels, exist."

Issei widened his eyes in shock hearing this. 'Devils, angels, and fallen angels? Those mythical creatures are a reality?' This is insane!'

"That goes for whatever sacred gear you got kid. I also can't help but notice there's more to you than just the gear."

Issei didn't know what to think about all of this. Two days ago that night, it was all a reality. Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels exist, and he has this 'Sacred Gear' within him.

"Tell you what kid." Issei's train of thought stopped as he looked up at the man, who was conjuring up a light spear. "If you can't handle your current situation, I can go ahead and end you here. Might as well be doing Rika a favor."

Issei widened his eyes at what he said and stood there for ten seconds. Suddenly, Issei's hair covered his eyes, and coldly replied, "If you think I no longer want to live because I'm something human's don't consider normal..." Issei paused for a few seconds and then continues, "Then I'm afraid you're mistaken. I don't know entirely what's going on, but whatever it is, I'll push forward no matter what happens." In all honesty, Issei didn't really want to die. Sure, Issei was surprised at all of this, and seeing the man's black feathered wings was enough proof to believe in what he's saying. But he'll follow through, like how some characters in some comic books and manga are able to.

The man sighed as he said "Then I guess I'll have to forcefully take your life kid." Issei took this as a sign he'll have no choice but to fight and put his fists up, ready for combat. "Hmph. You're pretty damn brave for choosing to fight back, but Rika did warn me of your strength and capabilities. So don't get any funny ideas kid." The man proceeded to throw a light spear in Issei's direction. Issei dodged it fine and aimed his fist for the Fallen Angel. The man however, caught his fist, and then conjured up a light sword this time and stabbed it into his left rib. Issei screamed in pain from this. "It hurts doesn't it, you Devils do have weaknesses after all, and one of them is light, like my light sword for example." Issei felt more pain as the man removed the sword from him, this time aiming for his heart. Issei however, ignored the pain and caught the man's hand before the sword can pierce him again and delivered a kick to his stomach, forcing the man to let him go. Issei then proceeded to give him an uppercut to his chin, making the man go back two feet.

Issei then held on to his wound. Thankfully it wasn't a deep wound and this was something he can walk off with proper bandaging, but he could still feel the burning pain. Issei stayed alert as he watched the male Fallen Angel get up from his attacks. He looks to Issei and chuckles with a grin on his face. "That was pretty good kid!" The man went back to his feet and then announced, "But remember, this fight ain't over until one of us drops!"

"Then let's get to it!" Issei replied as he charged towards the Fallen Angel. Said Fallen Angel attempted to swing his light sword downwards to Issei, but he dodged the attack and punched the man in the face. The man covered his face with one hand from the pain. While he was doing so, Issei delivered a roundhouse kick to his abdomen, sending him three more feet backwards and fell to the ground on his back. Issei then ran towards him planning to curb stomp his head. As he was about to go for it, the Fallen Angel got up in time to dodge his foot, get behind him and slash him in the back with his light sword. Issei screamed in pain and fell to the ground with his back facing the sky. The man was about to stab him, but Issei rolled to the right, got up and sweep-kicked him and went to punch the top of his head, but not before the man threw his light sword to his left hand and slash at his chest. But Issei was successful in punching his head downwards right at the same time he got slashed. The man's head slammed into the ground, creating a small crater near bigger than his head, and Issei was blown back five feet from the slash.

Both Issei and the man were on the ground. Issei on his back, and the man having his back face the sky. The male Fallen Angel was the first one to get up. He brushed himself and his hat off, then proceeded to tell the downed Issei, "You fought well kid, but I'm afraid your time of death has come." The man began to take his leave. However, he heard the sounds of grunting and turned around to see Issei on his hands and knees trying to get up. "*Sigh*. Look kid, you got a cut on your back, chest, and that stab wound in your left rib. It's best you just stay lying down there and bleed out."

Issei however, just kept trying to get up. It took him long, but he finally managed to lift himself back up on his feet. He lost balance for awhile but got it back, and proceeded to put his fists up once more. "I can do this all night bastard!" After Issei said that, he began to cough up blood from his mouth and fell back down to his hands and knees.

"See what I mean?" The man asked the bloodied young man, "You don't have any strength left to keep fighting. We all have our limits kid." Issei could only stare at him with a scowl, and then fall to the ground completely, becoming unconscious due to the blood loss. Then the man started to conjure up a light spear in his right arm and aim it towards him. "Might as well finish you off."

Before he could throw the spear at him, it was destroyed by a crimson aura. He looked to his right to see Rias slowing approaching the Fallen Angel.

"Sorry, but I won't allow you to kill him off just like that." The man made a scowl, then made another light spear, intending to attack the redhead with it, only for it to be destroyed, this time by yellow lightning.

"Ara ara, it's not polite to attack my master." It was Akeno, who had her hands surrounded by lightning, prepared for anything else that will happen. He was then met with the blonde-haired man Kiba, who suddenly appeared to him and was aiming his sword right at his neck. Then Koneko showed up with a silver baseball bat.

"Wait, that red hair. You must be..." The man started to recognize the redhead.

"My name is Rias gremory, and I will not allow you to butcher up my new servant."

"Heh! I see. The entire town really is your territory then. And he must be one of your servants. I do apologize, but please, do make sure you keep your servants on a leash, otherwise I would've delivered the final blow."

Rias then smirked and replied, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. But remember, as long as I'm still alive, This boy is under my protection. And if you cause any harm to him or any of my servants, I won't show any mercy."

The man let out a chuckle and said, "Noted." He then took flight in the sky and then said, "My name is Dohnaseek, and I pray we will never meet again."

Rias and her group then turned around to face Issei. He was currently lying face down on the ground unconscious in a pool of blood, with the cut mark on his back still visible.

"Ara ara" Akeno was the first to speak up. "That was a close call. And I must say, Issei-kun's really strong to put up a fight survive that long."

"We better do something quick or he's gonna die." Kiba said to the group. Koneko nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry," Rias said as she kneeled down on one knee to the unconscious Hyoudou, moved her hair out of her eyes and smiled to him. "I'll personally make sure he lives."

 **Wednesday, 5:30 AM**

Issei slowly opened his eyes, and then widened them quickly and shot up from his bed, breathing heavily. He checked his surroundings to see that somehow, he was back in his room again. 'Damn, what the hell happened last night?' he asked himself in his head. He then looked at his body and noticed he was not wearing any clothes at all, and that all of his injuries healed as if he never got hurt. he checked the time to see that it was too early to wake up for school, but decided to get dressed for it anyway. He went to the wardrobe to get a pair of boxers, put them on, and noticed that his uniform was in there. and like his weekend stroll clothes, they were all fine, looks just like new. Issei proceeded to put on his uniform and wait awhile for the time he's supposed to wake up for. However, Issei noticed something from the corner of his eye, and was in shock of seeing it. On his desk where his computer was, he found a female Kuoh Academy uniform, and a matching black bra and panties with crimson outlining. This made him snap his head to his bed, being suspicious about the whole situation and immediately pulled the blanket off his bed. What he saw made him widen his eyes, blush a deep shade of red, and turn away so he wouldn't look there. What he saw was Rias Gremory, known by most of the boys at the academy as one of the 'Great Onee-samas', completely naked in his bed.

Issei heard her get up from his bed, yawned, and then hear her say something he wasn't expecting her to say. "Oh. Good Morning Ise. Did you sleep well?"

When the blushing Issei heard those exact same words, He turned around, made eye contact with her, and pointed his finger at her. "WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

 **To be continued...**

 **Hello again folks! Damn this official first chapter took longer than I thought it would. But I'm glad I got it done. I also had to patch up the prologue chapter because there were some words missing from the original typing. I use WordPad by the by. Yup, Issei's got some fighting experience, and he's pretty strong too. He's also got a tough attitude at times, almost like Ichigo does. Also Raynare's not the one who kills him in this story. That's because I want her, Kalawarner, and Mittelt to be the good guys in this story, so I decided to make a custom Fallen Angel, Rika, the main antagonist for the first arc. Next chapter, Issei will learn more about the three factions and unlock his sacred gear. Until next time folks!**


	3. Chapter 2: No longer human

Chapter 2: No longer human

"Issei? You're up rather Early. Is everything alright in there?"

Issei jumped when he heard the voice of his mother. He began to panic, afraid that she'll get the wrong idea when she enters his room to see a naked Rias in his room. He immediately came up with an excuse in hopes she won't enter his room.

"I-I-I'm fine Mother! I just had a nightmare! That's all!" Issei crossed his fingers hoping his mother would buy it.

"Oh. well, I'm going to cook breakfast right now, I'll call you when it's ready."

"Okay Mother." Issei sighed a breath of relief after hearing her mother say that. Now all that's left to do is get some answers from his senpai, Rias. But first... He had to do something about her... Birthday suit. After taking a deep breath, Issei made direct eye contact with Rias. "You do realize that your private parts are still showing right?"

"Yes, I know." Issei face faulted at how casually she replied to him. "Would you like me to stand up so you can get a better view?" She began to tease Issei, only for him to get up from his face fault and point an accusing finger at her with a blush on his cheeks.

"Don't get any funny ideas! I have NO interest in staring at you in nude!" Rias giggled at his response, making Issei face palm himself and sigh in frustration. He then asked his senpai as politely as possible, while his face is still in his palm, "Look, can you please get dressed and tell me what the Hell is going on?" Issei took his face out of his palm and looked to see that she started getting dressed. Well, she got her panties on and just started getting her bra on. She turned to Issei.

"Will you clip this for me?" Issei widened his eyes a little and blushed a light shade of red, but nodded and helped her hook up her bra. He then sat down on his bed and looked away from Rias, waiting for her to get fully dressed. While she was doing so, she asked him, "So, how's your body feeling? you know, from your injuries?" Issei widened his eyes, recalling what happened last night, and shot up from his bed and looked at Rias, who was now fully dressed.

"That's right! I was meaning to ask you! What's up with that man who had feathered wings?! W-W-Why was he trying to kill me?! And-And-And *bmmp*."

"Calm down Ise," Rias said to him, touching his lips with her index finger, making him blush at her action. She then took her finger off them. "All will be answered in time. Anyway, your body is amazing."

Issei blushed a darker shade of red. "WHUAHAAAHH! B-B-By that, do you mean..."

His reaction made Rias giggle again. "No, I don't mean it like that. Don't worry, I'm still a virgin." Issei breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that. Rias continued to speak. "I was talking about how strong you were to put up a fight against that fallen angel yesterday despite your injuries caused by him. You were even able to recover from said injuries in just one night."

"Recover?" Issei asked confused.

"It left you weak," Rias continued, "But all you needed was a little magic touch to bring you back."

"Okay... But Why was I naked when I woke up? And how exactly did I survive this 'fallen angel's' attacks?" Issei questioned his red-haired senpai.

"Well," Rias began to explain, "The wound couldn't heal on its own, so I held you close and used my magic. It only works if we're completely naked."

After hearing her explanation, Issei's entire face turned red, almost the same shade as her hair and hugged himself. "WAAAAH! Skin to skin contact?!"

Rias giggled at his reaction and smiled to him. "My goodness, you get flustered so easily."

Issei pointed an accusing finger at her while his blush was still intact. "Well, I wonder why that is?!"

Rias approached the flustered Issei and cupped his chin in her hand. "Now now, Ise," she said to him. "You should be smiling, this world is magical."

"Sorry," responded the still blushing Issei. "But what you're doing right now's not helping." He then began to ask, "Besides, if you were the one who 'healed' me, then what in the Hell are you?"

Rias made a face of realization. "Oh that's right. I wasn't able to tell you due to you screaming in surprise." She proceeded to take four steps back from him and began to introduce herself to him, placing a hand on her chest. "My name is Rias Gremory, and I'm a Devil."

Issei widened his eyes at her introduction "A... A Devil?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes, that's right," Rias answered. "I'm also your master."

Issei widened his eyes further after she said that. "I... I don't understand..." Issei was at loss. He's his senpai's master? What exactly does she mean by that?

"Don't worry," Rias assured him. "All will be explained later. Right now, we should be ready for school, yes?" After she said that, Issei's alarm clock went off. He ran to it and hit the snooze button.

He then turn to Rias and told her, "You can leave through the window, I'll close it behind you."

Rias nodded to him in response as Issei opened his window for her to take her leave.

Before she left, she told him, "After school, I'm sending someone to your class to pick you up and take you to the old school building, I'll explain everything from here."

Issei nodded and replied, "alright then." After Rias left, he closed the window and went downstairs to have breakfast.

* * *

 ** _ **Hyoudou residence, Kitchen**_**

The Hyoudou family were eating their breakfast, peaceful as can be. Issei on the other hand, had a puzzled look on his face while he was eating. All that stuff Rias told him was leaving him so many questions. But thankfully, she said they'll be answered soon. He also wondered why she wanted to talk in the old school building. He knew about her being president of the Occult Research Club, and that it takes place in the old school building thanks to some students he walked by from last week constantly talking about her, and since devils, since she called herself one, are occult related, it probably would make sense.

His mother noticed his puzzled look and asked, "Is something on your mind, dear?" to see if he's alright.

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts and turned to his mother, who had a look of concern. "Oh, it's nothing," He assured her. "I was just thinking to myself that's all." Suddenly, the Hyoudou family heard the doorbell ring.

"Issei, can you get that please?" Issei's mother asked him.

"Of course." he said as he walked to the door and opened it, only to be shocked to see who it was. "G-G-Gremory-senpai?! Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?!"

"Come now, Ise," The redhead replied. "I told you that you could call me by my first name, didn't I?"

Issei then heard his father say in a teasing tone, "Oh, I assume she's your girlfriend?"

Issei was about to turn around and give his father a piece of his mind, but Rias tapped him on the shoulder, making him look in her direction, and showed him the palm of her right hand that read, **"Play along."** Issei sweat dropped at this, but decided to do as her palm said because he didn't want anymore confusion.

Issei's mother noticed the redhead and asked "Who might you be?"

Rias looked to his parents and said, "Oh, that's right, how rude of me. My name is Rias Gremory and I go to the same school your son does." She then asked his parents. "Is it alright if I have a talk with you about something?"

Issei's mother smiled at this and replied, "Why of course we can, It makes me happy to know my sweet boy's already making new friends."

Issei blushed at this and said, "Mom! don't embarrass me like that!"

Issei was back at the kitchen table with Rias sitting next to him. His parents offered her something to eat, but she declined the offer, saying that she already had breakfast.

"So, uh... Rias was it?" Issei's father was the first to speak up. "What kind of relationship are you two in at the moment?"

Issei blushed at his father's question and shouted, "Dad! Don't ask her such an embarrassing question!"

"It's quite alright Ise." Rias told Issei. She then answered his father, "Your son and I aren't dating, we're only just friends."

Issei's father sighed and said, "And here I thought my son finally got lucky."

Issei reached over the table and karate chopped his father's head saying, "Knock it off!"

His father only chuckled at his son's reaction while scratching the area where he got hit.

"I must say Rias," Issei's mother said to her, "For a foreigner, your Japanese is quite impressive."

"Why thank you Mrs. Hyoudou." Rias said. "My father has worked in Japan, so I had to learn the language."

"Anyway," Issei's father interjected, "What exactly did you want to talk about with us?"

Rias heard his question and answered, "You see Mr. Hyoudou, I came here to let you and Mrs. Hyoudou know that your son, Issei, is apart of the Occult Research Club."

Issei, as well as his parents widened their eyes at her statement.

"Um... When you say occult..." Issei's mother began saying in fear.

"Oh no, you misunderstand," Rias assured her, "My club only research the supernatural. We don't perform any rituals or silly stuff like that."

Unfortunately, Issei's mother wasn't convinced by what she said and responded, "I'm not taking any chances! I won't let you sacrifice my precious boy to some demonic spawn of Hell!"

Issei cringed at what she said, and his father questioned his son what kind of woman he attracted, making Issei cringe even more.

"I assure you two," Rias insisted to his parents, "We only research the supernatural. Nothing more, nothing less."

As Issei was looking at Rias after she explained to his parents about how her club works, he could've sworn he saw her blue-green eyes change color to red. As he kept looking at her eyes with a puzzled face, he suddenly heard his parents say, "Oh... I see... I apologize for jumping conclusions..." That was what his mother said.

His father on the other hand, said, "Indeed... We do hope for the best for our son to try new things..."

Issei was in surprise at his parents' response to his senpai and how sleepy-like they sounded, but what freaked him out the most was when he took a look at them, they looked like they were hypnotized or something.

Rias leaned her head towards Issei and whispered in his ear, "I had to use my magic to hypnotize them since this was starting to get out of hand."

Issei widened his eyes at her explanation.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted at her quietly with an offended look. "You could've at least let _me_ try to calm them down!"

Rias backed up from him a little, stunned at his outburst. But she understood why he was outraged and gave him an apologetic stare.

"I'm sorry, Ise. I just didn't want them to freak out."

Issei took a deep breath to calm down and shot another stare at her.

"Alright, fine. Just try not to resort to that again. I know you're a Devil, but it's just kinda messed up for you to do that."

Rias nodded to Issei in response, understanding what he was talking about.

"You have my word."

* * *

 ** _ **Kuoh Academy entrance**_**

While Issei and Rias were walking to Kuoh Academy, students male and female started noticing them.

"Look! It's the prince of justice!" a female student said.

"He looks so cute and handsome today!" another female student. commented.

"What's he doing with Rias-senpai?" a male student asked.

"Oh no! Do you think they're dating?!" another male student asked in fear.

"No! Our prince of justice has been taken!" a female student said in distress.

"Damn you bishounen!" a male student cursed at Issei.

"First the blonde Prince Charming, now this bastard?!" another pissed male student exclaimed.

Issei had a pissed off expression at the mean comments the male students were giving him. However, he was a little nervous at the comments he got from the girls.

'I'm starting to question the sanity of every student in this school.' Issei thought, mostly because of how the students jumped to conclusions on how him and Rias were dating.

As they entered the building, Issei felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see who tapped it. It was Rias. "What's up?"

"Just a reminder," she began to tell him, "I'm sending someone to your classroom to pick you up after school. So stay in your classroom until that person arrives."

Issei replied with a nod and the two went their separate ways to their classes. As Issei was walking, he suddenly felt his instincts telling him to dodge, so he did just that. He looked to see who attacked them, and to his surprise, it was none other than the perverted duo. He learned that the baldy's name was Matsuda and the four-eyes' was Motohama thanks to his friend Aika. He was surprised they tried to attack him because he beat them up for peeping at the kendo team and scared them after threatening them.

"Start talking bastard!" Matsuda shouted.

Issei raised an eyebrow. "What in the Hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with us, Bishounen!" Motohama exclaimed. "We saw you walking with The gorgeous Rias-Onee-sama! 99-58-90!"

It was quite obvious that they were starting to piss Issei off. Firstly, why were they interrogating him when A. they were selfish perverts, and B. he caught them red handed peeping at the kendo team and made them fear him? But as they continued to 'interrogate' Issei, his face formed into scowl, his hair was covering his eyes, and he had a tick mark on the top left of his head.

Katase and Murayama noticed Issei's situation, and went to shut the perverted duo up. Issei noticed them, and put a hand up towards them, signaling to stand down.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rias was walking upstairs to her classroom. As she made it to the top of the stairs, she heard someone say, "You seem so certain about him." Rias turned to see a woman who appeared to be in the same year as her. She had black hair in the style of a bob cut, had violet eyes, and wore red glasses.

"Hello again Rias." she greeted her. "Good to see you."

Rias smiled and replied, "It's good to see you too Sona."

Sona smiled to her friend and pushed up her glasses. "You know," Sona began, "one of my servants has been talking about this boy ever since you told me about his battle with a fallen angel before you reincarnated him. Could that be why you went for him?"

Rias smirked to her friend and said, "there's more to the story than that. When I watched him fight, he was fighting with pure instinct, almost like he's been to battle before. Even though it was quite a short fight, it amused me." her eyes then soften. "He also has the honor of a warrior, and a good heart. Even though his enemy was a being that wanted him dead, surprisingly, he wanted to spare her life and move on. Unfortunately, it didn't go his way." Rias then sets her stare on Sona. "And personally, I refuse to let anyone with a kind heart like his die like this just because he was trying to make a truce.

After Sona listened to her reasons, with a surprised expression too, she nodded to her and replied, "I hope it works out in your favor. After all, we will eventually have our-"

"You know," Rias and Sona's conversation was interrupted when they heard a voice spoken out loud so that all the students can hear. They turned their heads to see that it was Issei. His hair was still covering his eyes and the tick mark was still on his head. He was also grinning menacingly towards the direction of the perverted duo. Issei continued talking from there, "I am quite surprised you two actually approached me over something so stupid!"

The perverted duo started shudder in fear at Issei's tone and menacing grin. All of the students, male and female, including Rias and Sona, looked on at the scene between Issei and the perverts.

"In fact," Issei continued, "you fuckers actually tried to hurt me in blind jealousy just because of a misunderstanding and tried to make me a bad guy. That surprises me the most because you bastards invade women's privacy by peeping on them in any way you can, just like how I caught you two red handed peeping on the kendo team five days ago!"

The perverted duo were now sweating bullets. "wh-wh-whoa now," Motohama studdered. "Y-Y-Y-You don't have to be so lo-"

"You know," Issei interrupted the pervert with the glasses, not caring one bit about what he was going to say. "If I had the permission from this entire school, I'd go ahead and dislocate a certain thing you two got down there..." Issei paused in his speech, while the perverted duo slowly backed away from the grinning brown-haired boy. He then lifted his head up to look at them with evil looking eyes. He then finished with. "WHILE EVERYONE AROUND HERE IS WATCHING YOU SCREAM IN PAIN DURING THE PROGRESS!" The perverted duo began to scream and run for their lives from the sadistic looking Issei. After they were out of his sight, he breathed a sigh of relief, glad to finally be rid of those perverts.

Suddenly, he heard some girls squeal in delight and turned to them, only for him to blush a light shade of red since they were looking in his direction.

"Wow! How heroic!" one girl said.

"Those pervy freaks better watch out for the prince of justice!" another girl said.

Issei's blush darkened as he heard the girls talk about him like that. Deciding that he's heard enough, he speed walked his way to his classroom.

The girls giggled at how cute he looked when he acted shy.

* * *

 ** _ **After school**_**

Issei was looking out the window next to his seat, enjoying how beautiful the day was. While doing so, he wondered in his mind, 'I wonder who Rias-senpai's sending to pick me up?'

"Hey there Issei-kun."

Issei looked away from the window as his attention was caught by his classmate, Aika. "Oh, hey Aika-san." he greeted her.

"Mou! When are you gonna start adding chan to my name?" Aika said in a teasing tone, making Issei blush and fiddle his thumbs together. Aika giggled at his action and sat next to him.

Issei recovered from his shyness and asked, "Anyway, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much." replied Aika. "Just getting ready to visit Katase-san and Murayama-san to practice kendo. But I thought I'd have a quick chat with you before I leave."

Issei nodded in response. "Well for me, I'm waiting for someone from the Occult Research Club to escort me to the old school building. Apparently Rias-senpai invited me to be a member."

"Really? Well, ain't you a lucky fella?"

Issei raised an eyebrow at her comment. "I'm lucky how?"

"Well," Aika began to explain to him. "the club is run by Gremory-senpai and Himejima-senpai, who are known by most students 'the Great Onee-samas'."

Issei knew who she meant by the Great Onee-samas. In fact, he thought the nicknames for the two senpais were just weird. He even wondered how they feel about being called that.

"And maybe if you play it right," Aika continued "you could get one of them to fall in love with you." Aika said the last part in a teasing tone.

Issei blushed a dark shade of red. "Oh, very funny!" he snapped. "I'm not that kinda guy to seduce girls you know!"

Aika giggled at his snap. "Calm down Issei-kun. I was just messing with you."

Issei sighed with a sweat drop at her teasing.

"Oh my gosh! It's Kiba-kun!" Issei and Aika turned their heads to see some girls surround the door with blushes on their cheeks as they see Kiba walk into the classroom.

"Hello ladies." Kiba's greeting made the girls squeal in delight.

"He's so handsome!" one girl commented. As the comments about Kiba were continuing, and of course some jealous comments from the boys, Kiba approached the desk Issei was sitting in.

"Excuse me, are you Issei Hyoudou?"

"Um... Yes I am. Is there something I can help you with?" Issei asked politely.

"I've been sent by Buchou to bring you to the Occult research club building. If you would please come with me?"

'He must be the one Rias-senpai sent.' Issei then nodded and said, "Alright then. Well Aika-san, I'll see you later."

Aika responded with a smile and wave.

Before Issei and Kiba could leave the classroom, the girls started gossiping about the 'Prince of justice' and the 'Lost Prince of Kuoh' being a gay couple.

Issei turned his head towards the girls with a tick mark and exclaimed, "Don't jump to conclusions you perverts!"

* * *

 ** _ **Outside Kuoh Academy**_**

Issei and Kiba were walking to the old school building, where the Occult Research Club takes place. Issei was still annoyed with how the girls thought that him and Kiba are getting together.

"Damn, no wonder you deny most of those girls' requests. They can drive you crazy!"

Kiba chuckled at his statement. "Yeah, they can assume stuff rather too quickly."

The two boys have made it to the old school building. Kiba opened the door of the building and they entered the building. As they entered, Issei couldn't help but feel haunted at how dark it was inside. He was also surprised at how clean and normal the place was. Issei and Kiba made it to the second floor and were heading towards a door that leads to a room. While approaching the door, Issei noticed out of the corner of his eye a door that was heavily locked with a sign that says, **_"Do not enter!"_**.

Kiba noticed Issei's attention on said door and tapped him on the shoulder, catching his attention. "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Issei raised an eyebrow at what he said, but nodded in response. Kiba then knocked on the door that leads to the room he was going to take Issei to. "Buchou, I brought him."

"Come in." Rias' voice came from behind the door.

Kiba and Issei entered the room, and Issei was surprised when he observed the room. It was dark in there, with window curtains closed and only lit candles were providing light, giving off a creepy atmosphere. There were victorian-style sofas facing each other with a coffee table in between them with a carpet underneath them, and a big office desk behind.

Issei then noticed that someone was sitting on one of the sofas eating a chocolate bar. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Oh? You know her Issei?" Kiba asked.

"Oh, no," replied Issei." I just heard about her being the school's mascot from some of the students I walked by during school."

"This is Koneko Toujou," Kiba introduced to Issei. "She's a first year and valued member of the Occult Research Club." Kiba then looks to Koneko and says, "This is Issei Hyoudou, our newest member."

Issei then bows to her and says, "It's nice to meet you. I hope we can get along." Koneko nods in response and goes back to eating her chocolate bar. 'Not much of a talker eh?'

Issei then heard the sound of flowing water hitting the floor. He turned his head towards where that sound was coming from only to widen his eyes a little as he found a shower with the shower curtain closing it off. And to top it all off, there was a silhouette of a woman through the curtains. "Why is there a shower in the middle of this room?" he asked with a deadpan look on his face.

Kiba answered, "You see, Buchou couldn't shower at home so she usually takes one here."

"No," Issei turns to Kiba with his deadpan look still intact. "I mean _why_ is it in the middle of the room we're in instead of being somewhere else? I mean, who modified this room? A noob at Fallout 4?"

Kiba only laughed and scratched his cheek at his question and deadpan look. Koneko only looked at Issei and went back to her chocolate bar.

"Your clothes are laid out for you when you're finished, Buchou." Issei heard another voice that belonged to a girl from behind the curtain. He couldn't tell who it was though.

"Thank you Akeno." Now __that__ voice belonged to Rias, confirming the identity of the previous voice he heard. Issei sighed and scratched the back of his head in nervousness.

"I see you're finally here." Issei looked to see a girl who had black hair tied in a ponytail with violet eyes approaching him while smiling. Issei backed away from her slowly with a hint of pink on his cheeks. "Don't worry, I won't bite." she assured Issei. "You're the new guy, huh? It's nice to finally meet you." She then bowed to him, making Issei gain a light red blush. Akeno giggled as she noticed his blush. "There's nothing to be nervous about. Everyone here is super nice. I'm Akeno Himejima and I'm the vice president. Fufufu."

Issei's blush turned a darker shade of red. He had to admit, Akeno was adorable. He proceeded to bow to her and say, "Oh, um... I'm Issei Hyoudou. It's nice to meet you as well Himejima-senpai." Issei got up from his bow and scratched the back of his head nervously with his blush still intact.

Akeno smiled at his little introduction. "Ara ara, Please, call me Akeno. There's no need to be formal with me. Fufufufu."

Suddenly, Issei remembered her saying something earlier. "Oh, that's right, what exactly do you mean by 'finally' meeting me?"

Akeno giggled at his question and winked at him. "Oh, let's just say I heard a lot of positive things about you."

Issei looked away and scratched the back of his head in response to what she said.

The shower curtains opened as Rias was exiting the shower fully dressed with a towel in her hand, drying her long, red hair. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Issei," she said. "I didn't have time to wash after leaving your place, so I hope I didn't keep you long."

Issei shook his head. "No, it's fine." he assured her. Rias then moved in front of the office desk and leaned against it with her arms crossed, as everyone else sat down on one of the sofas. Issei sat next to Akeno on the sofa to her right, while Koneko and Kiba sat on the other one. They were all drinking tea that Akeno had prepared before the gathering.

"Now that everyone's here, I'd like to welcome you to the Occult Research Club, Issei Hyoudou," she proclaims. "But you should know that the name of the club is just a front. It's supposed to look like some sort of hobby. I'll be frank with you, Ise, and get right to the point; everyone in this room... are devils."

"...I see."

Everyone in the room widened their eyes as they looked at how casually he looked and spoke. Even Koneko had a surprised look when he said that. "You're not in shock about that?" Akeno asked curiously.

"To be honest, it was kinda obvious." Issei replied as he grabbed the cup of tea that was given to him by Akeno. "Rias-senpai herself told me she was a devil. At first I didn't believe her, but now I do after she pulled off some kind of hypnosis trick on my parents. I knew that because I noticed how her eyes changed color for a moment and how my parents talked after that. And when I found out the rest of you folks are involved with her club business, I assumed you all were devils too. And if devils exist, then other biblical stuff and logic has to exist as well. It probably confirms that those fights I had with those 'Fallen Angels' were a reality as well. And thanks to her magic, which I still question how it works because of a crazy procedure that I will not go into details in, I'm still here." He then took a sip of the tea and put the cup back on the table. He looked to Akeno and said, "This tea's really good by the way."

Akeno smiled brightly and replied, "Why thank you. Fufufu."

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Issei continued. "While Rias-senpai performed the hypnosis trick, I couldn't help but feel some kind of power from her. You know, like in that manga series when you can detect someone's presence and power via Reiatsu, or spiritual pressure, or something like that."

Everyone in the room widened their eyes again at his statement. Rias put a hand on her chin after learning what Issei did back at his home. "Interesting."

Issei then rested his ankle on his knee and folded his arms behind his head and asked Rias, "So what exactly _is_ a Fallen Angel?"

Rias started to explain. "The Fallen Angels are Angels who originally were from Heaven. They serve the God like any other Angel. However, they were cast out and fell to Hell due to their impure intentions and actions." She then places a hand on her chest before continuing to talk. "We, the Devils, have been at war with them for millenniums. Fighting for control over the Underworld, or Hell as you call it. The Underworld is split into two areas, one for the Devils, and one for the Fallen Angels. We Devils make pacts with humans for a price in order to obtain power and to increase our strength, whereas the Fallen Angels take control of humans to eliminate us. Moreover, The Angels of God have been tasked with the goal to wipe out both our factions, making the situation a three-way standoff. It's been like this since ancient times." Rias then wears a proud smile and says to Issei, "Hope that answers your question."

Issei didn't reply. He only looked down at the table while trying to process everything that's been told to him so far. Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels were locked in a three-way war for centuries? It's almost unbelievable. If it was all true, then why was he being told all of this? He still has some unanswered questions he wanted to ask Rias too. After remembering that Rias told him that she was his master, he had a look of frustration and tightened his fists, believing that he was now involved in all of this.

"Is everything alright?"

Issei was snapped back into reality and looked up to see Rias and everyone else looking at him with worry in their eyes. He didn't respond. He grabbed his cup, took another sip of the tea and placed the cup back on the table.

"I'm still confused." he said in honesty as he turned his head towards Rias and folded his arms behind his head again. "I can understand that there's a three-way war going on without me noticing until now, but there are some more questions I have that you promised to answer back when you were at my house."

Rias nodded to him and replied, "I'm listening."

Issei then stuck out his left index finger. "First question, what exactly is a Sacred Gear? I recall a Fallen Angel by the name of Rika telling me that I'm a danger to her kind because of me having said gear."

"Sacred Gears are basically irregular, but overwhelmingly powerful artifacts that are bestowed in certain humans by God." Akeno explained. "Most of them were found in people whose names are remembered through all of time, using their powers to become legends. The gears are found within a person's body, and with them, their names are etched into history."

Rias continued after her. "Most Sacred Gears have functions that are only usable in the human society. However, there are exceptional ones out there that are so unstable that they become a threat to both Devils and Fallen Angels of the Underworld.

Issei looked at her with wide eyes. "Damn."

"Would you like to see what Sacred gear you have?"

Issei nodded at her question. "Might as well. Damn gear's the reason I'm being hunted by those guys anyway. And I might as well find a way how to control it too."

Rias smiled at his statement. "Alright Ise, to awaken your Sacred Gear, hold up your left hand."

Issei raised a brow at her instruction, but did as he was told. "Like this?"

He got confirmation from Rias' nod. She then instructed, "Now, close your eyes and imagine the strongest thing or being that comes to mind."

"A strong being..." Issei whispered as his mind was thinking of a strong being. "A Samurai warrior who wields an all-black katana sword." was the being he chose.

Rias then said to him, "Now imagine that person in a particular pose where he looks the strongest."

He began to see the person in his mind. He could see a man with orange hair surrounded by a black aura with red outlining. He was raising a katana sword all in black above his head with the same aura around the blade. He also imagined the strong, determined look on his face as he slashed the sword downwards. As he did said action, the aura was leaving the sword, forming a large crescent shape.

"I think I got it." Issei said smirking.

Rias smiled at this and then continued with the instruction. "Now, lower your arm slowly and stand up."

Issei did as he was told and nodded, waiting for the next step.

"Now mimic the pose you imagined the person performing. You have to imagine it strongly. Don't hold back. You have to do it right away."

The last instruction Rias told him made him blush in embarrassment. But he knew he didn't have a choice. He had to awaken his Sacred Gear, no matter how cringe worthy the instructions are. He started balling up his hands into fists and brought them together as if he's wielding a sword. He then raised his arms above his head, with his blush still intact. "Getsuga..." He then brought his arms down hard as he slashed the 'sword' downwards. "...Tenshou!"

FLASH!

Issei's left arm started to glow emerald green. The light then shined brighter, making the others shield their eyes with their arms from said light. Then a blast of wind enveloped Issei and breezed strongly towards the club members who were still covering their eyes with their arms. After five seconds has past, The wind stopped and the emerald green light died down, revealing Issei, who still had his eyes shut and had his arms forward. He slowly opened his eyes and then widened them when he saw something on his left hand. On it was a crimson red fingerless gauntlet with an emerald green gem on top and two yellow spikes on its left and right sides. Issei brought his left hand towards him to take a good look at the gauntlet. "Is this...the Sacred Gear?"

"Indeed, it is." Rias said, catching Issei's attention. "Congratulations on summoning it. Now that it's been activated, all you have to do is decide when you want to turn it on or off."

After hearing that, Issei concentrated on 'turning off' the Sacred Gear. The gauntlet disappeared afterwards. 'Okay, it's like a mental switch or something.'

"I'm so proud of you Issei-kun."

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Akeno congratulate him. His cheeks turned light pink as he scratched the back of his head smiling. "Oh, thanks, that's really sweet of you."

Akeno giggled at his compliment while looking at him with sweet eyes.

Rias then stood up from the desk and looked to Issei's direction. "Now that we have that taken care of, is there anything else you wish to know?"

Issei started to remember what else he wanted to ask her. His look turned serious as he turned his head to Rias. "If what happened between me and Rika was reality, then how am I still alive after her attack? I know how I lived from the male Fallen Angel's attack, but what about _her_?"

Rias grabbed something from the right side of her desk and held it up to him. "Do you remember this?" she asked holding up what looks to be a flier.

Issei widened his eyes as he recognized the symbol that was on the flier. "That looks like one of those fliers that woman with brown hair gave me."

Rias nodded to him and continued to speak. "These fliers are used to summon Devils to the person who uses them. For example, if you were on the verge of death by Rika, it would have summoned me to you."

"Summoned?" Issei asked raising one brow.

"However, that wasn't how I saved you. That night, when Rika tried to kill you, my work was interrupted from the sound of objects hitting the ground hard. I looked out the window and saw you being chased by said Fallen Angel. I decided follow you to make sure you didn't get killed. When I caught up to you, I saw you fighting the Fallen Angel, and I must say, I was impressed with how you fought."

Issei scratched the back of his head. "Well, it wasn't that big of a battle."

Rias smile grew. "When you got stabbed by Rika, I showed up just in time before she delivered the final blow to you. After she flew away, I revived you and made you into an honorary member of The House of Gremory; daughter of Zeoticus Gremory."

FLAP!

A pair of black bat-like wings appeared from her back.

"Which means you are now my Devil servant, Issei Hyoudou."

FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!

Issei's mouth opened and his eyes widened as he saw everyone else stand up and have their wings out as well.

FLAP!

He then felt himself lunge forward. Looking over to see what caused him to do so, his eyes widened even more when he saw that he had wings of his own.

'This is insanity!' Issei thought in frustration. 'I'm a Devil now?! I'm really no longer human?!'

"Everyone," Rias said, "please introduce yourselves."

Kiba was first to introduce himself. "My name is Kiba Yuuto, second year student like you are, and a Devil. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Koneko nods her head to Issei. "I'm Koneko Toujou, first year. Even though it's like this, I too am a Devil."

Akeno steps forward and bows to him politely. "My name is Akeno Himejima, third year. I'm also the vice president of the Occult Research Club. I'm also a Devil. Hope we can get along. Fufufu~."

"We're glad to have you here, Issei Hyoudou. Now then, let's get down to business." After concealing her wings, Rias went behind her desk and brought out a full bag. She then went to Issei and handed the bag to him and sat down next to him. "The way this works is we grant power to humans for a price we both agree on and then seal with a pact. It used to be that people would draw magic circles to summon us, but that became too complicated. Nowadays, we make house calls and personal deliveries."

"I see." Issei said as he opened the bag to see stacks of fliers in it.

Rias continued from where she spoke. "Ordinarily, we'd have a messenger demon make the run. But as a new servant, I think it'll benefit you to learn what all goes into this job."

Issei looks up at her. "So Rias-senpai, what do I get for doing this?"

"Well," Rias said, then whispers to him teasingly. "You can have some servants of your own to do whatever you want them to do."

Issei points a finger at her with an annoyed look on his face. "Other than that!" His look then turned serious as he stood up. "I'm asking what do I get by being your servant? Don't misunderstand, I'm grateful to you for bringing me back from the dead so my parents won't be sad, but I never wanted to come back as a Devil, and or become a servant to anyone. What will happen to me when I serve you?"

"Well, what do you want?" Rias asked in interest.

Issei now had a look of depression and looked down to his feet as he was asked that question.

"I... I don't know. There's a lot on my mind. I wanted to become stronger so I can protect myself and any other innocent person from harm. I wanted to make sure my parents were safe in case they become victims to someone who wishes to cause trouble. I wanted to live a simple life where I could maybe learn to be a manga artist, a voice actor, or maybe write stories. But now that I'm a devil that would have to put up with some situations, I... I…"

Issei couldn't say anything else. his hands were now shaking and he looked more distraught than before.

Rias looked at the young man with sympathy in her eyes. She then stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I get it. You feel cheated for being able to live as what you are now. You feel as though your freedom is lost to me, but I assure you, that's not the case at all. You may be my servant, but you're still your own person."

Issei looks at her for a while as she had an assuring smile on her face. He then sighed and nodded to her. She nods in return, but then points up a finger. "But you'll have to call Buchou from now on."

Issei widened his eyes a little at her statement. "How come?"

"Since the school is an active territory of mine, and that this club is a gathering for us Devils, it's best you call me Buchou so the other students don't get the wrong idea."

That's when Issei remembered when they were walking together to school. Students were assuming left and right that him and Rias were dating, when obviously, they're not. "Alright, I guess that makes sense." Issei said. "So where do we start?"

"You start with the fliers."

"...eh?"

"The first step is for you to hand out the fliers that are in the bag you are currently carrying." Rias explained.

Issei then propped the bag on his back with the strap around his right arm. "Alright then. In that case, I'm off to deliver them." He then asked Rias just in case, "Is it alright for me to store some in mailboxes and put some through doors?"

She nodded to him in response. "Of course. As long as the person gets the flier."

Issei nodded to her and took his leave. He opened the door and said, "I'm off." before closing the door behind him, leaving to get to work.

Rias looked on at the door with a smile on her face. "Good luck Ise."

* * *

 ** _ **Kuoh Town, 9:00 PM**_**

Issei was currently on his bicycle delivering fliers to his destinations. Luckily, Rias handed him a device that pinpointed certain areas where to drop them off. Before he got started, he phoned his parents to let them know he'll be home late due to club activities. Thankfully, they understood and told him to be safe when he makes his way home. He was currently down to one more flier as he was on his way to his last destination, an apartment building with the room number 236. As he made it to the building, he slipped a flier through room 236's door slot where mail is put through. He then wiped the sweat off his forehead as he finally emptied his bag. He left the building and got back on his bicycle to return to the club room. During his ride back, he was still thinking about his new life as a devil. Sure, Rias did tell him that he's still his own person, but he still had some concerns. What he was concerned with the most is what will happen when his parents find out what he has become. They may not know now, but he has a feeling that one way or another, they'll find out eventually.

* * *

 ** _ **Occult Research Club room**_**

Issei knocks on the door and walks into the room. "I finished my deliveries."

Rias looks up from her desk and smiled when she saw him. "Nicely done. I just have one more job for you to do tonight."

"Lay it on me."

"You see, Koneko is double-booked with two summon requests," she explained.

"Oh?" Issei asked in surprise.

"I want you to take one of them so you can get some practice."

Koneko bowed her head to Issei, catching his attention. "That'd be super rad."

Issei bowed to her in response. "Don't worry. I'd be happy to help out a friend. Besides, I might get a chance to get a pact." Even though he just started to know the folks in the club, he still considered them his new friends.

Rias, and Issei walked over to where Akeno was standing as she held her arms out. Issei then widened his eyes to see a large red circle form beneath Akeno's feet. "Holy Hell!"

"We call that a transportation circle," Rias explained. "It allows us to teleport from one place to another." She then turned to Issei. "Hold out your left hand for me, if you will."

"Um, okay." Issei complied by giving her his left hand. She then traced a circle on the palm of his left hand with her finger. Then a symbol was tattooed on his palm. Issei stared at the mark in interest. "Whoa!"

"This is a seal," Rias informed him while he was still looking at the mark. "It serves as proof you're a member of the House of Gremory. When you get to the client's location, don't panic. Just do exactly as I told you. You think you're ready for this?"

Issei nodded while having a confident look on is face. "I'm ready when you are, Buchou."

Rias smiled at his confidence. "Very good. Alright, stand in the middle of the circle and make me proud out there."

Akeno moved out of the way so Issei can go to the circle. "Well, here goes nothing. Or everything," he said to himself as he stepped on the circle. He took a deep breath and let himself be engulfed by the red light.

POOF!

Issei opened his eyes to find that he was in a different location. From the looks of it, he guessed he was in someone's living room of his or her house that's filled with manga, anime, movies, and video games. 'This must be where the client lives. If that's the case, then I'm glad the teleportation worked.' Issei sighed a breath of relief as he said that in his thoughts.

"Who might you be?"

Issei turned his head right to see a man about a year or two older than himself sitting in an office chair. Guessing that he's the client, he bowed to him and said, "Good evening sir. My name is Issei Hyoudou. I am the Devil that has been summoned to you. How may I grant your wish?"

The man looked at him for a couple of seconds, then frowned in disappointment. "Sorry to break it to you kid, while I do believe you're a Devil since I saw you teleport here, you're not the exact one I requested. The one I wanted was a girl that goes by the name Koneko."

Issei knew he would say that, so he bowed his head to him again. "I apologize for that sir. My friend, Koneko, is currently busy with another client, so my master summoned me here in hopes that I could fulfill your wish."

The man then looked at Issei in interest. "Alright, I'll bite. So what can you do?"

Issei blinked at his question three times and scratched the back of his head. "Well first, I need to know what you wanted Koneko to do."

In response, the man reached under his desk and pulled out what appears to be a school uniform that wasn't Kuoh Academy's design. He presented it to Issei while having a pervy look on his face. "She does cosplay~."

Issei face faults at his reply. He then got up and asks with an annoyed look, "Seriously?! She does that for you?!"

"Damn straight," replied the man. "She also sweeps me off my feet and cradles me like a baby! I'm telling you man, she's one strong girl!"

Issei had a puzzled look on his face after hearing his words. 'Koneko can actually lift him up in the air?'

"Anyway," the man continued. "With that out of the way, what can you do?"

Issei put a hand on his chin as he tried to think of something to say. He didn't want to disappoint Rias. He had to get that pact. He then remembered his encounter with the perverted duo when he caught them peeping on the Kendo team, his fight with a thug that was harming his classmate, Aika, and his battles with two Fallen Angels. That was when he decided to use those memories to convince him he's worth making a pact with. Issei looked at the man with a serious look.

"Well, I remember one time I fought a thug that was trying to hurt someone."

The man looked at him in interest. "Go on."

"You see, this particular thug was trying to force a girl to do what he wants," Issei explained. He then smirked before continuing. "And when I fought him, I recall stomping on his head with my foot. After I did that, a small crater formed around the thug's head."

The man widened his eyes in awe as he heard the last part. "Damn. Was it like the ones in Dragon Ball Z?"

Issei raised a brow at his question. "I guess you can say that it's somewhat like the ones in Dragon Ball Z, but about the size of the thug's head." He said to the man. "Why ask? You into Dragon Ball Z?"

The man chuckled at his question and smirked. "Am I into it?" he asked Issei. He then went to his cabinet and opened it. "I'm a BIG fan of that series! Take a good look, my friend."

Issei widened his eyes in amusement as he was shown every single DVD of the Dragon Ball Z anime series. "Holy mother fucker!"

The man's smirk grew bigger as he heard Issei say those words. "What you see before you is all of the first editions of the entire series. That makes me a true collector, unlike those with the special editions!"

Issei had his eyes and mouth wide open hearing all of this. This was his first time meeting a collector of a very popular anime series. And he had to admit, it was making him excited. "I'm so jealous of you man," Issei said to him. "I could only afford a couple of those DVDs with my allowance every week when I was seven! And most of my money went to other series I enjoy as well!"

"Hmm," The man said as he looked at Issei in interest. "Then maybe we can work this out then."

Issei looked at him with puzzled look. "What do you mean by that?"

The man smirked to Issei and responded with something that gave Issei hope. "I'll make a pact with you if you watch the entire series with me with the remaining time you have. After we watch a certain amount of episodes, we can reenact some of the battles in them. We could also watch other kinds of films and play some video games as well if I summon you."

"Yes! You got yourself a deal!" Issei said nodding his head hyperactive with a cheerful smile. He then looked at his device with a calculating look. He was also able find out what his name was with said device. "Okay Mr. Morisawa, in order to sign the contract, it'll cost you either a close personal item, or five thousand yen."

"Alright then." Mr. Morisawa then went to his closet and pulled out a golden ball that had a red star on it and showed it to him.

"The one star Dragon ball?" Issei asked

"Yup," replied Mr. Morisawa. "When I purchased all the novelty Dragon Balls, I noticed that I accidentally bought two of the one star balls, but decided to keep the extra anyway. Will this price work for you?"

"Of course," Issei assured him. "It'll do just fine." After Issei stored the novelty one star Dragon Ball in his bag, he got the contract signed. Mr. Morisawa then went to the shelf and took out the first seven DVDs of the Dragon Ball Z series and propped them on his coffee table.

"So, ready to get started?" he asked with a smirk.

"Ready when you are," Issei replied with a toothy grin.

* * *

 ** _ **Occult Research club room**_**

"You two watched anime and talked about it?" Rias asked with a surprised look.

"Yup," Issei replied with a smile on his face. "I even got a contract just so I can do said activities with him." He then reached into his bag and pulled out the novelty one star Dragon Ball he was paid with with a toothy grin. "This was his price to sign the contract. And I'm personally proud of myself for such an achievement."

"Ara ara, way to go Issei-kun!"

Issei blushed a light shade of red as he was congratulated again by Akeno. "Aww. Thanks Akeno-senpai," he said while scratching the back of his head, only for Akeno to giggle in response.

Rias smiled at his accomplishment. "I'm glad you were able to get a contract on your first try. Even Mr. Morisawa enjoyed your company."

"Oh?" Issei was surprised at the last part she said. "What makes you think that?"

Rias pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to him. "After a Devil is done with their job, the client writes a review on how he or she performed. This was Mr. Morisawa's review for you."

Issei started reading the text. __"He was a cool dude. Very fun to hang out with too. Can't wait to summon him again for more requests. Best time I had yet."__

Issei chuckled to himself while scratching the back of his head after he read it all the way through. He then picked up his bag and went towards the door. "Anyway, I'm tired now from all of that work. Can I go home?"

"Of course," Rias said, giving him the greenlight to leave. "One more thing, Ise," Issei turned his head to Rias as he heard her speak. She now had a serious look on her face. "Try not to cause any trouble since you now have your Sacred Gear unlocked. We can't have the enemy find out about your current status. If they do, It'll be troublesome for all of us."

Issei sighed after hearing this. "Noted, Buchou." Issei then took his leave, opening the door and closing it behind him.

"Exaggeration much?" Rias turned her head left when he heard Akeno talk to her. "He's still new, you didn't have to scare him there."

"I'm not trying to scare him," Rias said to her friend. "I just don't want him to overestimate himself. Especially with the strength he had when he fought those two Fallen Angels before." Rias' look then turned more serious as she bit her thumb. "Plus, I will not let any of those Angel rejects take my new servant from me."

* * *

 ** _ **Kuoh town walkway, 10:00 PM**_**

Issei was on his way home from his 'club activities'. As he was walking he took a look at the sky and beautiful it looked. He smiled as he saw the stars twinkling in the sky. If he wanted to, he could go to the top of his house when he got home and keep staring into the night sky. Sadly, he can't because he needs sleep so he can be ready for another school day.

Issei then stopped dead in his tracks. He could sense someone's presence behind him via Reiatsu. Well... That's what he decided to call it when he senses someone's presence, power, etc. It was the same Reiatsu that he felt when he encountered that male Fallen Angel. He turned around to the source and widened his eyes to see a woman with navy blue hair. Her attire consisted of a maroon, trenchcoat-like top with a wide collar, a matching miniskirt, and black heeled shoes.

"I see you're still alive," the woman finally spoke. "That's good. Then maybe there's a chance."

Issei took two steps back and retorted, "If you're a Fallen Angel, then fly away and leave me alone! I don't want any trouble!"

"Hear me out, Devil of Rias Gremory," the woman insisted to Issei. "I came to you to tell you what Rika plans to do, and I personally don't like it one bit."

Issei had a look of bewilderment after hearing those words. How did she know he became a devil that serves Rias? What surprised him the most is that she, a Fallen Angel, is warning him about Rika, _another_ Fallen Angel, being up to something bad.

"Hear me, young one," she says to Issei, "Rika plans to murder an innocent nun just so she can obtain the Sacred Gear that allows the nun to heal any injury of any race."

Issei widened his eyes at her warning. Rika, the same Fallen Angel that tried to kill him because of how dangerous his Sacred Gear is, is now planning to kill a nun so she can get her Sacred Gear from her?

"That's all I have time to say to you, young one."

FLAP!

Issei's suspicion about the blue haired woman being a Fallen Angel has been confirmed as he saw black feathered wings appear from her back. The woman then began to take flight and leave the area.

"Wait!" Issei called to her. "I don't understand! What about the nun?! Why does Rika want her Sacred Gear?!"

"I don't have time to explain anymore," The woman said. "Rika will be suspicious about where I am!"

"But..." Issei was still bewildered about the whole situation

"I do have time to say this," The woman said before flying away. "If you see a nun, you'll know it's the one I'm talking about when you see two silver rings on one hand each! They glow green when they are in use. Those rings are her Sacred Gear!"

With that said, the woman took her leave, leaving a still confused Issei by himself. It took him a while to get back to his senses and continue walking home. As he was walking, he began asking questions to himself. Who is this nun that has this ring-type Sacred Gear. And most importantly...

Why did that Fallen Angel warn him about the other Fallen Angel, Rika?

 ** _ **To be continued...**_**


	4. Chapter 3: A friend from another faction

_**_**B**_**_ _ ** _ **efore we begin:**_**_

"talking"

'thinking'

 ** **{A being that will be in this chapter}****

 _ ** _ **Right,**_**_ ** _ **moving on!**_**

* * *

Chapter 3: A friend from another faction

 ** _ **Thursday**_**

Issei was walking to school with a puzzled look on his face. He was still thinking about the events that happened last night when he was on his way home. Last night, a blue haired female Fallen Angel warned him about Rika, who's a Fallen Angel as well, planning to kill a nun who has a ring type Sacred Gear that heals any injuries. Since it was another Fallen Angel warning him on what Rika plans to do, it made him ask questions he never thought he would ask himself. Are all Fallen Angels bad? Does it matter what faction they are to find out if they're a friendly or an enemy? Those were the questions he's been asking himself during his walk to school.

"GYAAHH!"

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a cry of a girl. He turned his head to the right only to widen his eyes a little when he saw a girl dressed in a teal nun outfit with light blue accents, a white veil over her head that had a light blue cross in the middle, and brown boots has fallen on the ground. She was also carrying a brown satchel slung on her right hip. Issei approached the girl and offered her a hand.

"Are you alright?"

The nun grabbed onto his hand, allowing Issei to help her up off the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

After he helped her up, the wind blew off the veil off her head, revealing her face to Issei. She had emerald green eyes and blonde hair that reaches down her back. Issei's cheeks turned light red because of how adorable she looked. She was definitely her type. Realizing what he was thinking, he let go of her hand and shook his head away from his thoughts.

"S-Sorry about that."

As the wind continued to blow, the two noticed that the nun's veil was being blown away by said wind. Issei ran towards the veil and caught it before it could go any further away from them. He then went to the nun and handed it to her.

"Thank you very much. That was very sweet of you," she said as she took the veil from his hand and placed it back on her head.

Issei only scratched the back of his head and replied, "Don't worry, I'm glad to help sister." He then asked, "So, what brings you here in Kuoh?"

"Well, you see," the nun began to explain. "I was appointed to a church somewhere here and I'm kind of lost." She then points her two fingers together shyly. "Is it possible for you to help me find it?"

Issei quickly checked his phone for the time. He smiled as he put his phone away and looked at the nun. "Sure, I got time before I have to head to school."

The nun smiled as she heard his reply. "Thank you kind sir! I'm so glad I found someone who's willing to help! I guess someone is looking out for me."

Issei understood what she meant, being a nun and all. "Don't mention it. It's my pleasure to help you out. Now then, let's get going."

"Right!"

* * *

Issei and the nun were walking to find the church that she was appointed to. While they were walking, Issei noticed something around her neck. What he saw was a silver cross. Upon first eye contact with the cross, he felt a shiver go down his spine and immediately looked away from it. The nun noticed his actions and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Issei heard her question and shrugged it off. "Yeah, I'm fine." He went to his thoughts on what happened. 'When I first looked at the cross she was wearing, I immediately got scared. *sigh*, makes sense actually; unholy spawns being vulnerable by crosses and other holy weapons. I've seen it all before on TV.'

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a young boy crying over a scrape on his knee. He then saw the nun approach the boy with a confident look on her face.

"There there now. A big boy like you shouldn't cry over a scrape. You're going to be okay."

What happened next made Issei's eyes widen in shock. The nun placed her hands over the wound and a green light came from it. As the light was around the boy's knee, the scrape started to heal at a rapid pace. As Issei witnessed this, he started feeling pain in his left hand. He guessed that it hurts because of the light that the nun formed. But that wasn't what he was worried about right now. What he was curious about was how the nun managed to heal him.

That was when he started remembering something from last night.

* * *

 ** _Flashback_**

 _ _"If you see a nun, you'll know it's the one I'm talking about when you see two silver rings on one hand each! They glow green when they are in use! Those rings are her Sacred Gear!"__

 ** _Flashback end_**

* * *

'Could that be the power of that Sacred Gear that blue haired Fallen Angel told me about?' he asked in his thoughts. 'Could she be the one Rika's after?'

"See, there's nothing to cry about at all. You're all better now."

The boy looked at his knee in amazement on how it healed thanks to her power. The nun then turned to Issei and noticed his shocked look.

"Sorry, I had to help him." She ended her sentence with a smile.

Issei shook his head and smiled to her. "It's alright. You did the right thing."

Her smile grew wider as she heard him say that.

The boy got up from the ground and waved to the nun while he walked away. "Thank you, sister!"

* * *

Issei and the nun continued looking for the church. While they were doing so, Issei was still having that feeling he had when he looked at the nun's cross. 'Damn, that cross must be doing a number on me since I'm that close to it.'

"You must be surprised," The nun said out of nowhere.

Issei shook his head. "No, not at all. That sure is a handy power you got."

"Thank you. I consider it to be a gift, and a blessing." The nun then had a sad look while her smile is still intact. "Truly, it's wonderful."

Issei noticed the sad look on her face. Before he could ask if she's okay, her face lighted up in joy.

"There it is!"

Issei looked to where the nun was pointing to see a church in front of them.

"Yup," replied Issei. "That's the church alright. It's the only one we have too."

"Thank goodness we found it!"

At that moment, Issei's eyes widened in fear. 'That Reiatsu! Are Fallen Angels in there?!" He then shook his head to himself. 'No, I can't jump to conclusions on who's Reiatsu's who. I'm still new to using this ability, and I still need to train myself with it.'

Issei then turned to the nun. "You know, it's weird. I've never seen anyone up there. Not a single person."

"Let me thank you properly." Issei raised an eyebrow at the nun's statement. "Would you like to come inside with me?"

Issei widened his eyes at her request. "Sorry, I can't," he answered quickly, while his right arm continued to shake. "I have school today, so I can't be late for it. Sorry."

The nun frowned at his reply. "Oh, that's okay." She then looked at him and smiled. "I better get going too. It was sweet of you to help me find my way. My name's Asia Argento, but you can call me Asia."

Issei smiled to her. "And my name's Issei Hyoudou, but you can call me Issei. I'm glad that I was able to help, Asia-san."

Asia's smile grew bigger. "You know Issei, meeting you here was a blessing, and it's one I'll never forget. I hope we see each other again."

Issei scratched the back of his head with a hint of pink on his cheeks. "Yeah, I hope we see each other again as well."

"If you ever get any free time, come by and visit me at the church. That's where I'll be in."

Issei winked to Asia and gave her a thumbs up. "Sounds good. I'll see you soon when I have the free time. Have a good day."

Asia smiled again at his kind words. "Thanks! You have a good day too Issei!"

With that said, they went there separate ways. Asia to the church, and Issei to Kuoh Academy.

While walking to school, Issei smiled to himself. 'She might be the kindest person I've ever met.' His smile then morphed into a frown as he shifts his eyes towards the ground. 'But how will she react when she find's out I'm a Devil?'

* * *

 ** _ **After school, Occult Research Club room**_**

"You must never go near the church again, Ise."

After school has ended, Issei went to the Occult Research club to meet up with the others. As he made it there, Rias asked to talk to him in private. Issei didn't know what she wanted to talk about until he heard her say those words.

"Why?" he asked her, surprised that she knew about what he's done for Asia.

"For Devils like us, the church is enemy territory," Rias explained. "Simply setting foot inside would create major problems for both Angels and Devils. Surely you could sense that something was telling you to be careful."

Issei nodded to her in response. "Yeah, I know the song and dance Buchou. Unholy beings like the Devils are vulnerable to crosses and any other kind of holy powers. Is that correct? I've seen it all on TV before. Also, when I simply looked at the church, I felt a chill go down my spine and my left hand tensed up."

"Yes, that's correct." answered Rias when he talked about the Devils' weakness. "As for those feelings you had, that was your Devil instinct telling you danger was near."

Issei had a look of surprise when she talked about his 'instinct'.

"Being in close proximity to someone from the church is a very risky proposition. Also, what's even more dangerous is that some of the exorcists affiliated with the church use Sacred Gears. They could really hurt you."

After hearing that, Issei recalled Asia using what he assumed was the Sacred Gear the blue haired Fallen Angel was talking about. He planned on telling Rias about said Sacred Gear, but due to the state he's in with her right now, he thought it was a bad idea to bring it up.

"Ise?"

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his president call to him. "I'm listening."

Rias was looking at him with a serious look. "Just know that if a Devil receives a Devil purge, they're utterly annihilated. Dead. The end of the line. They can feel nothing. They're gone forever. You can never come back from that. Do you understand?"

Issei had a sad look after hearing all of this, but nodded to her anyway. "Yes, Buchou."

"I'm sorry," Rias said, noticing his sad look. "I've gotten too worked up."

Issei looked on with his eyes widened a little bit.

"I want you to be more careful, that's all."

Issei nodded to her again. "Of course."

"Ara ara, are you done lecturing the poor thing?"

Issei and Rias turned their heads to see that Akeno has entered the room with a smile on her face.

"Akeno? I thought you were doing a pact?" Rias said.

"We just received a message from the Archduke," replied Akeno. Her look then turned serious. "It was urgent. A stray Devil has been causing trouble nearby."

Rias' eyes narrowed as she heard the information. She then turned to Issei. "Ise?"

"Yes Buchou?" replied Issei.

"This is a perfect opportunity for you to learn about stray Devils and how we Devils fight. Get ready to move."

Issei nodded his head to her. "Of course." Issei then looked down to the ground with softened eyes. 'Forgive me, Asia. Looks like I won't be able to keep my promise.'

* * *

 ** _ **Near an abandoned house**_**

Rias' group arrived at where the stray Devil is hiding out in via a teleportation circle, an abandoned house.

"Stray Devils start out as Devil servants," Kiba explained to Issei.

"Like we are?" Issei asked.

"No, not exactly," replied Kiba. "Once in a while, a servant rebels and leaves or kills their master to gain freedom. Then they become strays."

Akeno was next to speak. "According to the reports, this stray has been tricking people into that abandoned house and eating them."

"Damn!" Issei said.

"Tonight's job shouldn't be too hard," Akeno added. "Just find the beast and kill it."

"These monsters are pure evil," Kiba continued. "They don't care about anything but there own selfish desires. And that always ends in ugliness."

"Ise?"

Issei looked to Rias who caught his attention. "Yes, Buchou?"

"Are you familiar with the game, Chess?" she asked him.

"Yes," replied Issei. "There are sixteen pieces for both players. They both have a King, a Queen, two Knights, Two Rooks, Two bishops, and eight Pawns. All pieces have a rule to how they maneuver on the board. Why ask?"

Rias smiled at his answer. "Smart boy." Her look turned serious as she continued to speak. "As the master, I am the king. My empress is the queen, My swordsman; the knight, my tank; the rook, my clergymen; the bishop, and my foot soldier; the pawn. Devils with titles and nobility grant the characteristics of these pieces to each one of their servants."

"Really?" Issei asked amused.

"Really really." Rias confirmed. "We have a special name for them; we call them our Evil Pieces."

"Okay, but what's this got to do with fighting?" Issei asked in confusion.

"Watch and learn and you'll see," she answered. "Pay close attention to my servants as they do battle here tonight."

"Gotcha," replied Issei. He then widened his eyes in fear and shock as he felt someone's presence that wasn't any of his friends'. The others noticed his current state and looked to him with worried expressions.

"Issei-kun, are you alright?" Akeno asked him.

"That Reiatsu... I think it belongs to that stray Devil you guys were talking about."

Everyone was surprised with what Issei said, including Rias. She knew what he meant by _R_ _eiatsu_ when he talked about it yesterday, and it looks like he's using said ability to find the stray Devil.

Issei noticed the looks he was getting and he scratched the back of his head while blushing a light shade of red. "I'm still practicing with this ability. And yes, that's what I've decided to call it when I feel someone's presence, power, etc."

Rias immediately asked him, "Do you know where it's coming from?"

Issei pointed to a pillar in front of the group. "I think this killing intent Reiatsu is coming from behind that pillar. Well... At least the Reiatsu I'm feeling feels like killing intent."

Rias nodded to his statement and noted it to herself in her mind.

Everyone then heard the voice of a sadistic woman from behind the pillar.

"Now what could that foul smell be? Mmm~, something smells quite delicious as well! I wonder if it tastes sweet, or bitter!"

After the woman said that, she appeared out form behind the pillar. She appeared to be floating due to how dark the house is. She had black hair that reached down her back and gray eyes. And on top of that, she was not wearing any clothing at all, leaving her breasts bare.

"Whoa! Okay!" Issei shouted as he quickly looked away from the 'floating' woman.

"Viser, you wretch," Rias began to talk. "You betrayed your master and ran away to fulfill the lustful desires that have consumed you. Your sins are worthy of a thousand Hells. In the name of the great Duke Gremory, begone, or meet your death!"

"Oh just give it a rest, you little slut!" Viser spat at Rias. She then began to fondle her own breasts. "You're just jealous because your breasts will never be as luscious as these~!"

"This is your final warning! Go back to your master now!"

Issei began taking notes to himself out loud. "Okay, stray devils are selfish monsters, there's a 50/50 chance they'll be in the nude, and they're batshit crazy!"

"Let me show you how 'batshit crazy' I am!"

Issei looked up only to see a giant pair of hands with red claws coming from the shadows, along with the rest of her lower half of her body. And it looked ugly. "Holy Hell!"

"See what I mean?" Kiba asked to Issei. "When I said it ends in ugliness, I wasn't joking."

"I'm aware of that!" replied Issei. "So, do all stray Devils mutate like this when they go stray, or was she able to transform into this freak to begin with?!"

Unfortunately for him, his question wasn't answered as they were focused on the stray, who was continuing to laugh like a maniac and play with her own boobs. Issei then noticed some magic circles coming from the stray's nipples while they were erecting to an unrealistic size. Her nipples then began to glow red.

Suddenly, his instincts told him to dodge, and he did so, along with everyone else in Rias' group. As they dodged, the stray's nipples shot out yellow beams of light that behaved like bullets. Luckily, thanks to Issei's instincts, the bullets only hit the wall, making a hole through it.

Issei looked at the hole with a baffled look. "What in the hell is this, Austin Powers?!"

"Please be careful, Ise," Rias said to Issei, who nodded in response. She then turned to Kiba.

"Kiba!"

"Right!"

As Kiba readied his sword, he suddenly vanished from where he was standing.

"Damn, what speed!" Issei commented.

Rias turned to Issei and smirked to him. "So you can see him move?"

Issei nodded to her. "Yeah, did you see it?"

"Yes I did," replied Rias. "Don't worry, he's suppose to be this fast."

Issei raised an eyebrow at what she said, so she continued from there.

"In this game, Kiba's my Knight. His attribute is speed, and his ultimate attack weapon is his sword."

Kiba approached the stray Devil with said speed and successfully cut off both of the creatures large arms of her lower body, making her scream in pain.

"GYAAAAHHH!"

Blood continued to spurt out of the parts where her arms are no longer at.

Koneko approached the creature with an emotionless look on her face.

"Koneko-chan, be careful!" Issei warned her.

The stray devil then started to transform into a much uglier monster with sharp teeth and pointy ears, looking more like a goblin than a bombshell. The lower body then opened its mouth like a venus fly trap, showing off it's menacing large teeth. The monster then lunged at Koneko, who was still standing there, not caring about what the monster's doing. The lower mouth then trapped her with its teeth.

"Koneko-chan!" Issei was in shock at what has happened before his eyes.

"It's alright," Rias assured him, making him look at her with a questioning look.

After four seconds have past, the lower mouth started to slowly open. It was then forcefully opened by Koneko herself.

"Holy hot damn!" Issei shouted in surprise.

"In the game, Koneko is my Rook," explained Rias. "Her attribute is simple, she has an unparalleled strength. That attack won't put a dent in her."

Issei still had his eyes wide open after hearing that information.

"Fly, monster." Koneko then punched the creature's lower mouth, breaking all of it's teeth. The monster herself was blown back by the attack. It caused her to collide to a nearby pillar, snapping a piece of it off while the monster landed on the ground on her right side.

Issei was still in shock at what Koneko pulled off. "Mental note to self, do __not__ piss her off."

"Akeno!" Rias commanded

"Oh, is it my turn?" She asked Rias, but she already knows the answer. "How exciting! I love this game so much! Fufufu."

While they were focused on the behemoth, Issei sensed something from behind them. He turned to see the two arms Kiba cut off reanimating and flying towards Rias and Akeno.

"Buchou! Akeno-senpai!" Issei warned as he ran towards the arms, with Rias and Akeno in surprise of the arms' reanimation.

"Sacred Gear!" Issei called forth his fingerless gauntlet as he continued to run to them to defend them from the arms. Issei delivered a swift punch to the arm that's after Rias, and then went to Akeno and butterfly kicked the other arm that was after her. Both of the arms were now motionless.

"Thanks for that Ise," Rias said to him

"Ara ara, such skill in combat," Akeno complimented.

Issei scratched the back of his head after their thanks. "No problem. I was glad I noticed them."

Rias then looked to Akeno. "Akeno, finish her off please."

"I've got news for you, stray devil," Akeno said. "You're not the only one who likes to play rough here, So let's you and I have some fun~." Akeno began to unleash yellow lightning from her hands.

"Akeno is my Queen," Rias explains to Issei while Akeno was zapping the stray Devil with her lightning. "Her attributes are a perfect combo of a knight, rook, bishop, and pawn. She's simply unbeatable."

Issei payed attention to the information given to him while watching Akeno zap the monster continuously.

"Tough girl," Akeno commented. "Not ready to give up yet? Goody~! I get to play some more~!" Akeno unleashed more lightning on the creature, making her scream in neverending pain.

"Her weapon is a deadly lightning attack," Rias informed. "But that's not all..."

"This violence. It's making me so hot!" Akeno licked her lips after she said those words.

"She's _really_ into S&M." Rias finished.

"Is this as good for you as it is for me?" Akeno asked the monster perversely as she moaned in pleasure with dark red cheeks.

Issei was in fear after hearing what Rias told him. He almost feels sorry for the stray for having to put up with such pain. "I'm immensely scared right now," he commented while watching Akeno continue to use her lightning on the creature.

"Don't worry Ise," Rias assured the frightened Issei. "She only shows off this side to our enemies. Besides, she did consider you cute before you two met. Let her spoil you when you get the chance, she might hug you later on."

Issei only backed away with a dark blush on his cheeks and a scared look.

"Alright Akeno, that's enough," She said to her Queen. Hearing her master, she stopped her lightning magic, making the creature fall down hard on the ground.

"Aww, over already?" She asked sounding disappointed. She then turned around to face the group while having a light red blush on her cheeks. "I was just starting to enjoy myself. Fufufufufu~."

Rias then walked towards the downed behemoth. "Any last words?" she questioned the stray.

"Go to Hell!" the monster said.

"Alright," Rias replied casually. She then summoned a magic circle in front of her. "It's time we end this fight. game over."

Rias then unleashed a black aura with red outlining towards the monster. The aura destroyed the creature, leaving no trace of it.

"Damn...," Issei said in amusement.

"Now that that's out of the way," Rias said to the group. She then turned around to them. "Let's go home."

"Sounds good to me," Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba said in unison.

"Hold up, Buchou," Issei said to Rias, catching her attention.

"What is it Ise?" she asked him.

"You didn't tell me what piece I am," he explained to her. "So, what am I?"

Rias smiled to Issei as her and the others walked toward the exit. "You're a Pawn."

"Okay... So when can I promote then?"

Rias turned her head to his direction after he asked that question. "Hmm?"

Issei looked at her with a serious face as he continued speaking. "In Chess, Pawns can promote to any piece except the king when they reach the enemy player's side of the board. Since I'm a Pawn, how will things work in _this_ version of Chess?"

Rias smiled to him again. "Any area I declare as enemy territory is where you can promote yourself to any piece you desire. It'll also work if you get my permission to promote when we're on a different kind of battlefield. And the best part about this version of promoting, it's not limited to whatever of my pieces have been taken down."

Issei nodded at this information. "So for example, since this abandoned hellhole is enemy territory to that freak, I could've promoted to any piece I wanted except for the king?"

Rias nodded and winked to him. "My my, you catch on rather quickly."

"Oh, it's nothing," Issei said blushing while scratching the back of his head. "I've played the game a few times with some people at my old school, so it's a no-brainer for me. Heh heh heh."

With that explained, Rias and her servants stepped into the teleportation circle, teleporting themselves back to the club room.

* * *

 ** _ **Occult Research Club room**_**

While Issei was waiting Akeno to set up the teleportation circle for his next client to score a second pact, he was thinking about his current position. He was Rias Gremory's Pawn; a simple foot soldier. Not that he has a problem with it. Rias did tell him that he was able to use promotion to become any piece except for the king. But he knew that wasn't enough. He can't rely on the promotions to get out of harms way. If he truly wanted to succeed, he would train himself like how he was trained in those self defense classes with martial arts and Kendo when he was eleven. He must become stronger without the help of promotion. He must become the ultimate Pawn. That way, he can protect his new friends, and his family.

"It's ready." Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Akeno tell him that she's ready to teleport him to his next client's house.

"Alright, let's do this," Issei said confidently.

"Ise," Rias said, catching his attention.

"Yes Buchou?" he asked her

"Make sure you handle this well, okay? That one client wanted Koneko, but she's overbooked, so try what you can to get this pact. I can't guarantee he'll behave the same way your first pact did."

Issei nodded to her. "You got it."

"Good," Rias said. "Now get going."

Issei went to the teleportation circle and waited for the light to take him to his destination..

POOF!

Issei found himself in a hallway of someone's house. He got spooked at how quiet it was in the house he was teleported too. All of the lights were turned out too, but thanks to his Devil vision, he could see just fine.

"Um... Hello? I'm the Devil Lady Gremory sent to you, if you're here, then please answer."

Issei waited for a few seconds to get an answer. He heard no one. It was still quiet in this building, freaking him out even more. Suddenly, Issei's eyes widened as he felt something familiar to him. 'It's that feeling I had when I looked at Asia's cross.' his eyes then widened even further. 'And that Reiatsu… It's the same one as that stray Devil's killing intent, but worse.' Part of Issei was telling him to get out of here right away. But something made him not want to. He didn't want to disappoint Rias because he couldn't get a contract from the client because of a feeling he had. Having made up his mind, he walked around the house searching for the client.

"If you can hear me, don't be freaked out, because I'm coming inside."

As Issei continued to walk around the house, he was spooked out more and more at how dark this place was. Thankfully, he found a source of light that came from a room.

'That must be where the client's at.' he concluded in his mind, making his way towards the room.

As he made it to the room, he noticed how the room was lit with only candles.

'That client Koneko's got must be one creepy bastard.' he thought. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

As he continued walking, he stopped in his tracks when he felt his foot touch something wet. Issei reached for his foot to feel what he stepped on, and it made him widen his eyes in fear.

'Blood?!'

Issei's hand was covered in blood when he scrapped the 'wet stuff' off his shoe. He then looked down on the ground to see that the whole floor was covered in blood. as his eyes followed the trail of blood, his eyes widened even further to see a corpse of a man lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

"H-H-H-H-Holy shit!" was all he could say after witnessing such a sight.

"Punish the Wicked."

Issei immediately turned left when he heard a voice of a man. He saw someone with white hair sitting on the couch with his back turned to him.

"Words to live by," The man continued to speak. "Yes, wise advice to heed from a holy man."

The man turned his head to the direction of Issei with a maniac grin and wide red eyes. Issei took two steps back away from the psychotic looking man, who began to stand up from the couch. Issei could now get a good look at his attire. He was dressed in clerical clothing and had a gold cross around his neck, which explains the chills Issei had earlier. As Issei was studying his Reiatsu, he appeared human, but his killing intent was intense.

"Well, well, well," The man continued. "You just walked into wrong house my friend." He then bowed to him in a gentlemanly style. "Freed Sellzen here, at your service." He got up from his bow and started dancing like a lunatic. "And you must be the scared little pussy who's Devil ass this holy priest is gonna exorcise!"

Issei widened his eyes at his speech. "A priest?!"

"Yup," replied Freed with an insane look. "I work for a certain Devil purging organization you may have heard of." He then walked towards Issei with his maniacal look still intact.

"So you're the one who murdered this man?!" Issei asked in anger.

"Summoning you was proof that he's done being human." Freed then turned his head to the corpse and flipped it the bird. "End of the line, Sinner!" He then turned his head back to Issei. "So I had to chop him up into little bitty pieces." He reached for something in his clerical coat with two hands. One pocket with the left hand, and the other pocket with the right hand. "Putting down shitty Devils and the lost souls who call to them is my job." He pulled out two items from his coat, A pistol and a metal handle that ejected a blade of light from it. "And no one is better at it then me!"

Issei widened his eyes at the weaponry Freed's equipped with. Though, he was more focused on that lightsaber ripoff that actually works as a lightsaber. 'Oh shit!'

The psychopathic priest continued to speak. "First, I'm gonna cut out your evil heart with my heavenly blade of light! Then, with my righteous gun, I'm gonna blow your demonic brains out! How's that sound, shitty Devil?!"

Freed then lunged at him ready to cut him with his blade of light. Issei dodged the attack in time. However...

"Kerblam!" Freed shot Issei's ankle after he dodged the blade, making him fall on the ground and hold his ankle in pain.

"These bullets have been blessed by an exorcist," Freed explained. "How do they feel, shitty Devil?!"

"GRRR! Damn you!" Issei summoned his Sacred Gear on his left hand.

"Oooooh, is the Devil angry?!" Freed asked in a looney tone. "Maybe it's time for Freed Sellzen to send you back to the abyss from whence you came!"

"RAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Issei charged at the psychotic priest aiming his fist for his face.

"Too slow," Freed said as he dodged his attack and slashed his back.

"GAAAHH!" Issei fell to the ground face down in pain. He could feel the burning pain that is the light from his holy light blade. He tried to get up, but his wounds on his ankle and back weren't allowing him to do so.

"Get a guy all worked up and leave him half cocked?" Freed asked. "That's no way for a lady to treat a gentlemen like myself!" Freed raised his sword above his head, ready to deliver the final blow. Issei thought that this would be the end of the line for him.

"KYAAAAAHHHH!"

Issei and Freed turned their heads to the source of where a female scream came from. Issei was in shock when he found out who it was.

"Asia, what the hell are you doing here?" the priest questioned the blonde girl, who Issei recognizes as Asia.

"Are you done creating the barrier already?" Freed asked to Asia.

"D-D-Don't do this!" Asia uttered.

Freed realized that she was scared of all of the blood that was all over the room. "Oh, you're new to this, so let me explain this to you. This is what the job is, my dear. We dispose of unfortunate people who've been bewitched by shitty Devils."

Asia widened her eyes as she begins to recognize Issei.

"No... It can't be..."

"Asia, I..."

"What do we have here? Asia, do you two know each other?" Freed asked in surprise

"Issei, why are you here?" Asia questioned Issei

Issei's look changed from shocked to guilty as he heard her ask that question

"Asia... I'm here... Because... I'm a Devil."

"No," Asia was in a state of denial. "That can't be true. It can't."

"I didn't want to lie to you!" Issei said to her. "I swear, I didn't." Issei was now in a depressed state. "That's why I decided to not see you again. I'm so sorry... Please forgive me..."

Asia's eyes started to tear up after hearing those words.

"Not that this isn't heart warming," Freed interjected. "But you and your friend here have no business being together. The Fallen Angels Rika and Dohnaseek have expressly forbidden all forms of contact between our kind and theirs. Have you forgotten that Asia?"

Issei widened his eyes at the last sentence he said. 'A priest, working for a Fallen angel? He said Rika too. Just what the hell's going on?'

"Now then," Freed announced. "Shall we go ahead and do what we came here to do?" After he asked that question, he put his light blade near Issei's neck. "Not that it matters much, but I hope you've said your prayers, shitty Devil!"

As Freed raised the sword above his head, ready to cut his head off, Asia got in between the two men. Well... The man and the psychopath. Issei was surprised with her actions.

'Is she protecting me?' Issei asked himself in his mind.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." Freed said in annoyance.

"Please don't kill him! I beg you!" Asia began to plead. "Forgive this man his sins, Father! Can't we just let him go?"

"That __man__ you're defending is a shitty Devil!" Freed spat out. "You made a pledge to defeat our enemies!"

"It doesn't matter to me what he is!" countered Asia. "There's goodness in him, I know it! You can't just kill him! How can you actually believe that God would approve of this?!"

"GRRRRR!" Freed was getting pissed off by the nun. "Enough of this BULLSHIT!"

Freed slashed at Asia with his light blade. Luckily, she didn't get cut, but her clothing did, exposing her bare breasts. Asia covered herself with her arms after what happened.

Issei was angered by this psychotic priest's actions and tried to get up to fight him. "Don't you touch her, fucker!" As he was about to charge at him, he was stopped by his ankle being in pain due to the holy bullet still stuck in there.

"You've lost your fucking mind brat!" Freed then stabbed the blade to the floor before approaching the defenseless nun. "Is your brain made out of fucking worms or something?!" He questioned Asia as he cupped his right hand to her chin.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Issei shouted to the psychopath, but he didn't listen

"Rika said that I can't hurt you in any way, shape, or form, but I don't give a fuck anymore!" He then grabbed Asia's right wrist with his left hand. "You know what happens to naughty girls who don't listen do you?!" He proceeded to throw Asia to the ground and get on top of her.

"No!" Asia was in fear right now. She can't get away from that psychopath now.

"ASIA!" Issei tried again to get up but the holy power in that bullet is still affecting him, making him fall to the ground.

Freed started to fondle Asia's left breast and pressed the barrel of his pistol against her crotch. "I may not be able to kill you, but maybe I can rape you instead?!"

The word 'rape' made something snap in Issei as his hair started to cover his eyes.

"Yes," Freed continued. "Maybe that's a fine punishment for a whore who believes in making friends with shitty Devils! I'll play with your boobs until they're all bruised up, AND THEN, I'LL USE MY LITTLE FRIEND TO-"

POW! CRASH!

Asia looked on in shock to see Issei punch Freed square in the face, launching him towards the wall, making a crater out of it. Issei was now standing on his own two feet. He can still feel the pain in his ankle due to the holy bullet still stuck in there, but he didn't care. He also didn't care about what faction he's messing with and being friends with anymore. He wants to help his friend, Asia. Nothing more, Nothing less.

Freed fell off the wall after being stuck on their for a minute. He then looked up in rage while holding his nose due to it bleeding thanks to Issei's punch. Issei looked at the downed priest with eyes fueled by his own rage.

"I don't care anymore..."

"Eh?" Freed said, not understanding what he meant.

"You heard me, you cock sucker! I don't care anymore! I don't care who's faction I'm fighting against! I don't care if my friend's a nun! All that matter's to me now is who's good and who's bad, regardless of the faction they're from! And YOU, are a bad person! No, You're not a person, You're a fucking MONSTER! Threatening to RAPE Asia?! I may be a Devil, but there's NO way in Hell God will tolerate your actions!"

Freed finally got to his feet and picked up his light blade and pointed it at him. "Oh please," Freed began to speak. "I don't want to be told off by a shitty Devil! If you're itching for a fight, then it's pointless! Thanks to that holy bullet in your ankle, and that cut on your back, I've already won!"

"I don't care about my injuries!" Issei snapped to the 'monster'. "All I care about now is killing you! Scum like you don't deserve to live on this planet! With the remaining strength I have left, I'll do what I can to execute you so no one else will suffer by your hand! You call yourself a priest?! What a fucking JOKE!"

Freed's brow twitched at that part.

"Last time I checked," Issei continued. "Priests don't threaten innocent girls with rape! I will kill you here and now and rid the world of such a-"

STAB!

"BLAAAGH!"

"I must say, for a shitty Devil, you talk to much."

Issei got stabbed in the chest by Freed's holy light blade, making Issei cough up blood. He then pulled the sword out of his chest and let Issei fall to the ground. As Issei did so, he was holding onto the deep stab wound in his chest.

"KYYAAAAAAAAHHH!" Asia screamed as she saw Issei get stabbed by the maniac.

"Phew, Now that that's out of the way," Freed said as she went and picked up Asia by the waist. "We better get going. Good riddance to you, shitty Devil! HA HA HA!"

Issei's body was twitching as he was holding onto his deep stab wound in his chest. He tried crawling to Asia so he could save her, but that made him lose more blood and cough some more up. His eyes grew heavy. He tried reaching for the phone so he can phone his Buchou and tell her he needs help, but didn't have the strength to do so. His eyes were slowly closing, the last thing he saw was the psychotic excuse for a priest carrying Asia on his shoulder.

'Dammit!'

Issei's eyes were now closed. He can see nothing but darkness now. He has failed to save Asia, and has failed as a devil. The last thing he thought about was how his parents, and everyone else will react when they find out that he has died. Only time will tell…

* * *

BA-BUMP

Suddenly, Issei's eye's shot open, as wide as saucers, and he began to scream in agony. Issei was rolling around clutching his head in unbearable pain. Freed noticed the screaming and turned around to see what's going on. He raised an eyebrow at what he witnessed, but then widened his eyes as he saw what happened next. Asia was able to look at Issei while Freed was holding onto her, and she felt so bad for the young man. She too had the same eye widening reaction Freed had when she witness what started to happen to him.

The stab wound in Issei's chest and the slash wound on his back started to heal in a rapid pace. Then the holy bullet popped out of his ankle, and that too healed. The wounds were healed as good as new. Freed checked, and Asia wasn't using her special ability. So how was this Devil able to heal so quickly?

Issei then got up on his knees and shot his head up towards the ceiling while he was still screaming in agony. After he did that, the unexpected happened.

A bone-white liquid started shooting out of Issei's eyes, ears, nose and mouth. As the liquid kept flowing, Freed was laughing in excitement as he discovered that the liquid was slowly forming a mask on the right side of Issei's face.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Looks like this shitty devil's turning into a monster! A kind of monster that I've been wanting to kill for a long time now! And it looks like I found my chance! HA HA HA HA!"

"Issei..." Asia was worried about him. She had no idea what that mysterious white liquid was that was shooting out of Issei.

"Sorry to break it to you dear," Freed told her in a mocked disappointment. "But that's not the 'Issei' You know in love anymore! This shitty devil is undergoing a transformation into a monster that eats our kind; a Hollow!"

Asia widened her eyes in shock at what he said. She didn't want to believe that Issei was turning into a monster.

"Anyway, we better leave this building," Freed said to Asia, still holding onto her tight as the house began to be torn apart by the waves of wind caused by the white liquid. "I need to look my best when I fight a Hollow!" Freed then kicked the door down and left the crumbling building, leaving a screaming Issei in the building.

While Freed was waiting in the street outside the crumbling house for the 'transformation' to complete, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a red circle forming on the ground next to him. The area where the circle was flashed and revealed Rias and her whole peerage out in the street.

"Well, well, well," Freed said catching their attention. "Could you folks be friends of an unfortunate shitty Devil?"

"An exorcist." Koneko said with no emotion

"What do you mean 'unfortunate'?" Rias asked with anger in her tone.

"Buchou..." Koneko got Rias' attention now. She had a look of surprise when she saw her Rook trembling in fear while pointing towards the house.

Rias and crew looked at where she was pointing only to have looks of shock and fear when they saw Issei through a shattered window. They could hear Issei screaming in pain as the white liquid continued forming a mask across his face at a slow pace. The mask was currently covering the top right side of his face.

Rias then turned to the exorcist with anger clearly visible on her face. "What did you do to my precious servant?!"

"What have I done?" Freed asked in mock curiosity, with everyone looking at him with anger their eyes. "Oh I'll tell you shitty Devils what I've done. I've stabbed that little shit right in the chest with my blade of light, that's what I've done! HA HA!"

Everyone widened their eyes at his words. Their newest member just got stabbed by an exorcist and they didn't make it in time to save him. Their looks then turned to rage at the psychopath.

"Ooooh, such looks of anger and rage, Oh how I love it!" Freed said swaying his body back and forth. "But that's not all," he continued. "After I stabbed him he began to transform into the monster he's currently turning into right now. Only boring part is that it's taking forever! I want to prove to everyone that I'm the ultimate exorcist when I slay myself a Hollow!"

The word 'Hollow' made the group widen their eyes further and took another look through the window where they could see Issei with the white liquid still flowing out of his face, continuing to scream in pain.

"No... It can't be..." Rias was in a state of denial. Her newest servant was becoming a Hollow before her eyes. She can't bear the agonizing screams Issei was making. It was hurting her heart.

"Ise!" Rias started running towards him only to be stopped by Akeno.

"Hold on Rias," Akeno said to her master.

"Akeno!"

"Rias, take another look at his transformation," Akeno requested. "Usually, when someone becomes a Hollow, their body explodes and reforms. But Issei-kun's case is different."

"What do you mean, Akeno?" Rias asked her Queen.

"For Issei-kun, the mask is taking form while his body is still normal. That's a sign of resistance."

Rias was relived after her Queen's explanation, but the fear of her Pawn becoming a Hollow still remains.

"As much as we all want to help you save Issei-kun," Akeno continued. "We can't. All we can do is wait and hope that Issei-kun has the strength to reject the transformation."

"I doubt it," Freed interjected, making everyone turn to his direction. "Your precious shitty devil is nothing more than a weakling! If he were to resist the transformation, then why was it easy for me to cut him down, hmm?!"

Hearing that made Rias mad at the insanity of the exorcist. "I will never forgive you for attacking my servant! Kiba!"

Kiba nodded and charged at Freed with his sword. He attempted to slash at him, but the exorcist blocked his attack with his sword of light.

"Whoa there," Freed said to Kiba. "Sorry blonde, but I have no interest in fighting you. I'm waiting for a fight against a soon-to-be Hollow!"

"Our friend won't become a Hollow," Kiba assured. "I know he'll be strong enough to resist the transformation. So for now, your opponent is me."

"*Sigh*. Fine! But only because I'm impatient with the boy's slow transformation process!"

The two clashed swords with each other in a battle. While this was going on, Asia was staring at where Issei was with her hands together and hope in her eyes. Rias, Akeno, And Koneko noticed the nun's actions and were quite surprised. She was praying for good luck for a Devil. While the other Devils can't pray for him due to being Devils, all they can do is look on in Issei's direction in hopes that he won't become a Hollow.

* * *

 ** _ **...**_**

Issei slowly opened his eyes as if he was awakening from a heavy sleep. He then shot them open wide when he was bewildered at where he woke up in. He found himself on top of a building of a dark blue city. It was also daytime when he looked up at the cloudy sky.

'What is this place?...' Issei was still in amusement at the peaceful atmosphere of this city.

 ** **{So, this is what my new host looks like?}****

Issei jumped as he heard a voice somewhere. He looked for the source of the voice, but he was having no luck finding it. "Wh-Who-Who's there?!"

 ** **{Over here!}****

Issei looked up at a building where he heard the voice again. What he saw on top of said building made his jaw drop and eyes widen the size of saucers. "Is that... A Welsh Dragon?!" he asked himself in amazement.

 ** **{So you can hear and see me? That's good. I've been trying to reach you for a while now.}****

Issei raised an eyebrow at the dragon's words. "Reach me?"

 ** **{Yes. But back then you were too weak to hear my words until now.}****

"H-H-Hold up Welsh Dragon," Issei said confused. "I don't understand. What's going on? How did I get here in this strange city? Am I dead, or am I dreaming?"

 ** **{Heed my words and you will understand, Issei Hyoudou.}****

Wanting answers to his questions, he decided to shut up and pay attention to what the dragon's going to say next.

 ** **{I am Ddraig, The Red Dragon Emperor.}****

"The Red... Dragon Emperor?" Issei asked with his eyes still wide.

 ** **{Yes, that's right. I am also the dragon sealed in your Sacred Gear.}****

Issei looked more surprised at his words. "Y-Y-You mean this?" He asks the dragon as he summons his Sacred Gear in his left hand. Ddraig took a look at the fingerless gauntlet.

 ** **{Hmm... It appears to be in an immature state.}****

"What?" Issei asked in confusion, not understanding what he meant by his Sacred Gear being in an immature state.

 ** **{Issei Hyoudou,}****

"Y-Yes Ddraig?"

 ** **{To answer one of your questions you've asked me, you are currently in your dream world.}****

"My dream world?"

 ** **{Yes. And because this is your dream world, you have the authority to change this world however you like it to be. It will also be where I reside in if you wish to have a talk with me.}****

"Damn..." Issei said in amusement. He then scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "At least that means I'm not dead."

Before the dragon could say anything else, the dream world began to rumble as if there's an earthquake there. Issei then noticed some of the buildings began to crumble apart and fall to the ground.

"What the hell?! What's going on here?!" Issei asked confused.

 ** **{You are in grave danger, my host! This world is being destroyed because you're on the verge of death and becoming a Hollow!}****

"A Hollow?" Issei asked confused.

 ** **{Long story short, Hollows are creatures that eat humans, Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels.}****

Issei widened his eyes after hearing Ddraig's description of Hollows. He was currently transforming into a monster that eats people? No matter who they are? No! He can't! He doesn't want to become something his friends will see as a creature that needs to be put down! He still has a life to live!

Issei looks up towards Ddraig with desperation visible on his face

"Is there a way to stop the transformation?!"

 ** **{Well, your body is resisting the transformation, so there's a chance to stop it while you can.}****

Issei sighed a breath of relief after hearing the information.

 ** **{However, that doesn't mean we can fool around! You must find a way to stop the transformation process!}****

"But how?!" Issei asked frantically. "I don't know how to stop it other than have someone in the real world do something about it!"

 ** **{Don't worry my host, I have an idea. I don't know for sure if it will work, but I'm gonna need your full attention for this.}****

"Of course!" agreed Issei. "Anything to prevent me from becoming a monster!"

 ** **{Do you remember me commenting on how your Sacred Gear is in an immature state?}****

Issei nodded in response, giving Ddraig the greenlight to continue.

 ** **{That's because it's not the gear's true form. What I thought of was that if we mature the Sacred Gear into it's true form, then maybe the transformation will stop and you will still be you.}****

"Okay, but how can we 'mature' it?" Issei asked, desperate to stop the transformation process.

 ** **{Sacred Gears can adapt and evolve based on their wielder's thoughts, needs, and feelings. For example, if you desire anything you want, it will work as fuel for your Sacred Gear to get stronger.}****

Issei looked at his 'immature' Sacred Gear with a thoughtful look. "So... If I desire to get this gauntlet to turn into its true form, then maybe it will take on said form?"

 ** **{Precisely.}****

After Ddraig confirmed Issei's theory, Issei jumped when he heard a building crash to the ground.

 ** **{Well, what are you standing around for?! Use your desires to get your Sacred Gear matured, or you**** _ ** _ **will**_**_ ** **become a Hollow!}****

Issei nodded his head violently and began to think of what he desires.

'Come on Sacred Gear, I need you to become your true form! I don't want to become a Hollow! I want to live on and try to make the best of my life!'

 ** _{Boost!}_**

Issei looked at his gauntlet as he heard it say something. At first, he was disappointed to see it was still in its 'immature' state, but he did see the gem glow green.

'Okay, maybe this means I'm making a little progress, but that's not enough! I have to get it 'matured'! Come on you damn gauntlet! Respond to my feelings and become what you really are!'

While he was thinking, he stopped as he heard the sound of crumbling. He looked up and he saw a building falling towards him. Not wanting to get crushed, he looked for a building that was shorter than the one he's standing on and jumped towards that building. The building that was falling hit the one Issei was standing on and destroyed it.

Issei was now on his hands and knees breathing heavily. He then began to feel frustrated. How was he gonna 'mature' his Sacred Gear when his dream world is crumbling apart?

"Dammit! At this rate, I'll never get that damn gauntlet to its true form!"

 ** **{So that's it? You're just gonna throw in the towel?}****

Issei widened his eyes and turned to Ddraig, who was now on top of another building in front of him.

"N-N-No. I didn't mean it like that!"

 ** **{Then what is it you desire, Issei Hyoudou?}****

"Well... I wa-"

 ** **{Other than to turn the Sacred Gear into its true form!}****

Issei's looked turned into confusion after Ddraig's interruption.

 ** **{Think about it, my host, You have been reincarnated into a Devil and are now facing troubles humans would consider unnatural. You are also facing enemies that wish to harm you, and possibly anyone you hold dear to you! Your friends, and possibly your family will be their next target in order to deceive you!}****

Issei now had a look of fear. Ddraig had a point. Now that he's a devil and holds a Sacred Gear other supernatural beings consider dangerous, there's a good chance that those beings could hold his friends and family hostage just to get to him.

 ** **{And who knows? Maybe it will be**** _ ** _ **you**_**_ ** **who harms them when you become a Hollow!}****

Issei's eyes were now hidden behind his hair as he started to grit his teeth after hearing the dragon's words. Ddraig noticed his current look and finished it off with one question.

 ** **{I'll ask you once more, what is it you desire, Issei Hyoudou?}****

Issei was now balling his hands into fists after he was asked that question.

"I want... I want..."

 ** **{You want**** ** _ **what**_** ** **?}****

Issei stood up from his spot and now had a look of determination.

"I WANT TO PROTECT EVERYONE THAT I HOLD DEAR TO ME!"

 ** _{Dragon Boost!}_**

After Issei roared out his desire, his Sacred Gear said the words that followed. The gem started to glow brighter than it once did and now had strange markings on it.

"I will not allow myself to become a monster! I will also not allow anyone who poses a threat to harm anyone I care about either! I will protect them with whatever strength I have! And if that's not enough, then I'll get stronger until I have enough power to keep them safe! So please, Sacred Gear, become what you really are so I can have the strength to do so!"

 ** _{Explosion!}_**

* * *

 ** _ **The deceased client's home**_**

Issei was still screaming in agony as the white mask has nearly taken on its complete shape, leaving the left side of his jaw exposed.

"Woot woot! Won't be long now! I can finally have the most epic battle I ever get to fight yet!"

Freed was excited when he noticed that the mask was nearly done molding itself. Everyone else on the other hand was still hoping that Issei would be strong enough to reject the transformation. Asia was praying for his safety, Rias was holding her hand to her heart with a sad look, Akeno and Koneko were looking on at the transformation with hope in their eyes, and Kiba was keeping Freed at bay while he too was hoping Issei won't become a Hollow.

After three seconds have past, everyone started to notice a mysterious aura fuming from the broken windows of the deceased client's home at a rapid pace. This aura was black and had a white outlining. The aura continued fuming until it was built up into a cloud the size of the house to the point where they can't see said house anymore. The aura then traveled upwards high in the sky like a mushroom cloud would when an explosion of an atom bomb occurred. After it did so, the group, including Freed and Asia had looks of surprise and shock when they noticed the top of the aura forming into a shape of a skull. The skull had glowing white eyes and had white stripes on the top left side of it.

 ** **"R**** ** **RRRRR**** ** **AAAAAAAAAAAA**** ** **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**** ** **AH**** ** **HH**** ** **HHHHH!"****

Everyone, and surprisingly Freed widened their eyes as they witnessed the skull roar a deadly sound. The sound of the roar was even made by it too. While it was roaring, an explosion occurred and pieces of wall were scattered in front of the group. After the skull roared, it flew higher in the sky and evaporated. It was now quiet. The trail of black aura with white outlining was still surrounding where the deceased client's home is, not allowing anyone to see it. The silence continued to linger around where the aura is still seen.

"Ise! If you can hear me, then please say something!" Rias was the one who broke the silence, but didn't get an answer from Issei for five seconds. "Ise!"

After her second call to him, the aura began to clear up a little to see a silhouette of a man that appears to be just standing there. Everyone waited for the aura to completely clear up so they can see if Issei was still there. After it did, Everyone, except for Freed had a look of fear at what they were currently looking at.

The house was completely destroyed with only broken pieces of it remaining around the area. But that's not what they were looking at. They were looking at Issei, who was just standing there like a statue. His left arm was covered by a crimson gauntlet with ten golden spikes surrounding it. It had a green gem on top of the hand, and another one on the behind the four spikes that were behind the first gem.

While the gang were surprised with the gauntlet, what they were paying attention to the most was Issei's face. He was wearing a white skull shaped mask that had reptilian teeth and three black stripes on the left of its forehead. That mask alone made everyone, including Freed ask to themselves in their minds:

Has Issei Hyoudou become a Hollow?

As they were staring on, the masked Issei took one step forward, making Kiba prepare his sword, Koneko put her fists up, and Akeno conjuring lightning from her hands.

"Wait you guys!" Rias shouted to her servants with wide eyes and a sad look.

"We don't have a choice, Buchou!" Kiba replied, waiting for the masked Issei to do something after taking that step.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Freed shouted to them, getting their attention. "This is my fight here! I've waited as patiently as I could to fight myself a Hollow, and I'm not letting you shitty Devils take my kill!"

Rias and her servants had killing intent in their eyes while staring at the psychotic exorcist. Everyone then noticed Issei slowly raising his left hand towards them. Everyone, except for Rias and Asia took a fighting stance after seeing this action. The masked Issei then balled his hand into a fist and...

POW! CRACK!

Everyone looked surprised when they saw Issei punch the top left side of the mask, making that area have a few cracks on it. Issei proceeded to grab the mask and slid it to the top left side of his face, sighing a breath of relief afterwards.

Everyone now had wide eyes staring at Issei. Rias on the other hand had a look of relief while having tears in her eyes and both her hands placed on her heart. She was so grateful that her new Pawn hasn't become a Hollow.

Meanwhile, Issei began to look at his left arm with an impressed look. "So... This is Boosted Gear huh?"

Hearing him say these words, everyone, except for Freed who had a disappointed look on his face, widened their eyes further.

* * *

 ** _Flashback_**

 _ _Issei was breathing heavily after shouting out his desires. He then looked at his left hand only to be bewildered at what his fingerless gauntlet has become.__

 ** _ **{You did it partner! You matured your Sacred Gear!}**_**

 _ _Issei chuckled at the Welsh Dragon's congratulations and turned to him.__

 _ _"So what happens now?"__

 ** _ **{Right now, you are currently waking up, so I better tell you this while I can. Pay attention as I say these words!}**_**

 _ _Issei nodded his head to Ddraig's words. "Lay it on me."__

 ** _ **{The Sacred Gear's name is Boosted Gear. It allows you to double your physical and magical power every 10 seconds.}**_**

 _ _Issei now had a look of surprise after hearing the information about his Sacred Gear while at the same time remembering said information.__

 ** _ **{That is all I can say to you for now. Until we speak to each other again, partner.}**_**

 ** _Flashback end_**

* * *

Issei started gripping his left hand into a fist two times while having an astonished look on his face because of how impressive the gauntlet looked. He then smirked to himself for now having a new power bestowed to him.

"Uuuuuggghh! What a disappointment!"

Issei looked to the right as he heard the voice of someone shouting. His look turned serious when he found out that it was that monster who said those words.

"I was hoping that you'd become a Hollow so fighting you would be more fun! Now look at you! You're still a shitty Devil with a fancy looking gauntlet and a useless mask perched on your head! Come the fuck on!"

"Hmph," Issei scoffed at him. "For an exorcist, you sure do have a foul mouth."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that a lot, " replied Freed in annoyance. "But as long as I get to kill shitty Devils like you, I don't give a fuck about how I'm judged!"

Freed proceeded to lunge at Issei with his sword of light. Seeing this, Issei held up his Boosted gear towards him, ready for battle.

"Boosted Gear, power me up so I can kick his ass!"

 ** _{Boost!}_**

The sound Issei's gauntlet made signaled to him that he was given the power he requested.

"I'm gonna cut you up to relieve stress about the disappointment I had to witness!" Freed shouted as he was ready to cut him up.

Before Issei or Freed could make the first move, Freed got hit in the head by a piece of broken furniture and landed on the ground, now out cold.

Issei turned his head to the left to see that it was Koneko who threw the broken piece at the psychopath. He was then swept off his feet by her when she picked her up. Issei widened his eyes at how she was able to easily pick him up.

'Damn, my first contract wasn't lying when he talked about her strength!'

"Fallen Angels are coming here." Koneko announced to the group.

Rias nodded to her Rook and turned her direction towards her Queen. "Akeno, set up a teleportation circle now, on the double!"

"Yes ma'am," Akeno replied as she began to create a teleportation circle.

"Wait!" Issei said to the group, pointing towards Asia. "What about her?!"

"I'm sorry Ise," Rias said to him. "The circle can only teleport us Devils to other places. We can't take the nun with us."

"No!" Issei shouted. "We can't leave her here! Not with this monster!"

Asia had a look of hope on her face as she looks in Issei's direction. "Issei, let's meet again one day. You really are a kind soul."

Issei was touched by her kindness. She didn't care if he was a Devil anymore. What mattered to her was that he was a nice person with a kind heart.

"Asia," Issei said to her with a look of determination. "We will meet again! I promise you this!"

POOF!

Asia was smiling with tears in her eyes after she heard him say those words before he and the Devils teleported away.

* * *

 ** _ **Occult Research Club room**_**

POOF!

The Devils have made it to the club room via a teleportation circle. Koneko set Issei down allowing him to stand. After she put him down, Issei turned to Rias, wanting to tell her something very important.

"Buchou, listen, I-"

Before he could continue, he was suddenly hugged by Rias, who was sobbing. He was surprised by her sudden actions while blushing a light shade of red.

"Buchou, are you ok-"

"I'm so sorry, Ise," Rias apologized to him with tears continuing to flow from her eyes. "I had no idea an exorcist was gonna be here. A-A-And when I saw you becoming a Hollow, I-I-I-"

Understanding what she was saying, Issei decided to hug her back and stay quiet for now, not wanting to make things more complicated.

While Rias was hugging Issei, Akeno went to prepare tea and Kiba went to take a quick shower. Koneko on the other hand was paying attention to the mask that was still perched on the top left of Issei's head. Even if Issei hasn't turned into a Hollow, that mask was still giving her chills, making her tap her foot in nervousness.

 ** _ **To be continued...**_**


	5. Chapter 4: I won't abandon her!

Chapter 4: I won't abandon her!

 _ **OCCULT RESEARCH CLUB ROOM**_

Issei was currently in the club room's shower naked with Rias as she was healing the injuries on his back. Apparently, Issei had some gashes on his back caused by some of the sharp pieces of wall of the deceased client's house as it blew up due to that mysterious black aura with white outlining. He didn't realize it until Akeno pointed out his wounds with a lustful gaze and a perverted smile, which made Issei jump because he knew it was her S side kicking in when she saw the injuries. He also felt pain from his back due to said wounds after Akeno told the group about his cut up back. Wanting to take care of his injuries, Rias instructed Issei to follow her into the shower and strip off all of his clothes so she can take care of said injuries. Issei blushed at her request, but complied by entering the shower with her, removed all of his clothing and covered his crotch area so they can get on with Rias' healing procedure.

While Issei was being hugged from behind by a naked Rias, he noticed that her left hand started to glow. Afterwards, he started feeling the wounds slowly close up a little.

'So this is what she did to me when I was attacked by that male Fallen Angel,' Issei said in his thoughts amused. He then felt Rias let go of him.

"All set," she said to him.

"Thank you," Issei replied as he covered his crotch area and went to put on his boxer shorts so Akeno can apply the bandages without looking down there.

Rias looked at Issei with a sympathetic look. "You need to relax, at least until you get your full strength back."

Issei was currently getting bandaged up by Akeno. Issei didn't notice, but Akeno was still looking at the closed up wounds on his back with a perverted look.

While he was getting patched up, Rias continued to speak. "The light power that stray exorcist used on you was strong. You're lucky you were able to survive all of his attacks."

"A stray exorcist?" Issei asked in surprise. "I didn't know know there can be strays of those guys too. How do they work compared to stray Devils?"

"A ton of them get the boot from the church due their desires that the church finds against their religion," explained Kiba. "That, or they become too obsessed with killing our kind that the church had to get rid of them."

"Damn," replied Issei. 'If there can be stray Exorcists, as well as stray Devils, then maybe there can be stray Angels and stray Fallen Angels as well?'

"For lack of options after they've been kicked out," Kiba continued. "They become servants to the Fallen Angels."

"Hang on," Issei said concerned. "Are you saying that Asia's on the same camp as that monster?!"

"We're not saying anything other than you're a Devil," Rias told Issei as she exited the shower with her towel wrapped around her body. "And for whatever reason, she's the servant of a Fallen Angel. Those are the facts Issei."

Issei looked down at his feet with a look of anger. 'Dammit! How could that innocent girl be involved with Rika, if she is the one Asia's stuck with?!'

Issei was snapped out of his musing when he felt his hand grabbed and squeezed in comfort. He turned to see that Akeno was the one trying to comfort him from the stress caused by the information. He smiled her and whispered, "Thanks Akeno-senpai, I appreciate it." Akeno smiled to him in response to his thanks.

 _ **FRIDAY, KUOH TOWN**_

Issei was currently sitting on a bench wearing his weekend clothing in muse. It was the same clothing he wore during his last weekend's stroll, until it ended abruptly by Rika, who he now guessed that she's a stray Fallen Angel since he still remembers that blue haired female Fallen Angel warning him about what she plans on doing to Asia. Rias was able to excuse him from school today so he can recover from his injuries, and he decided to use that time to think about what he's going to do next.

'I have to save Asia. She doesn't deserve to be on the same boat as that psychotic priest, or that Fallen Angel Rika.' After many minutes of musing, Issei stood up from the bench and had a look of determination on his face. 'After school ends for my friends, I'm gonna tell Rias about her Sacred Gear and what Rika plans on doing to her. To hell with being a different faction from Asia's, she needs my help, and I'm _not_ going to abandon her!'

"Issei, it's you."

Issei turned his head left to the source of the voice. He widened his eyes to see a familiar nun standing before him.

"Asia! What are you doing here?" Issei was in surprise to see her here and not with Freed or Rika.

"I ran away from the church," explained Asia. "I just couldn't stand Father Freed and Rika-sama doing such terrible things to innocent people."

Issei's eyes softened after hearing her reasons. He then gave her a sincere smile. "You did the right thing, Asia. You don't deserve to be around those kind of people."

"Well, at least Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt were there to comfort me before I ran away."

Issei raised an eyebrow at her next sentence. "If they comforted you, then what are they doing with Rika?"

"I don't know," answered Asia. "But when they knew that I was gonna run away, Kalawarner told me to find you for protection."

Issei was surprised at the last sentence, but was thankful to whoever kalawarner is for telling her to run. 'Maybe I'll meet her, and the other two people she talked about after I stop Rika.'

After noting this to himself, he looked to Asia and smiled to her. "So, you hungry?"

Asia gained a questioning look after he asked her that question. She then blushed when she heard her stomach growl, earning a chuckle from Issei.

"Don't worry," He assured her. "I know the place to grab a bite."

 _ **TIMESKIP**_

Issei and Asia were now at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant. Issei ordered himself and Asia a twelve count nugget meal. After they got the food, the two went to a nearby table and sat there. While Issei was eating, he noticed that Asia was staring at her nuggets, not sure what to do.

"Hey, Asia," he called to her, getting her attention. He then picked up a nugget from his box and explained, "This is how you eat these." He then put the nugget in his mouth and started chewing on it. Asia looked on and nodded to him after he swallowed his nugget.

"Alright, here goes." Asia took a nugget out from her box. She hesitated at first with a hint of red on her cheeks, but she then placed it in her mouth and started chewing on it. "Wow, it's so yummy!"

Issei smiled to her. "I'm glad you enjoy it. Dig in while the chicken's still hot."

"Okay."

Issei and Asia continued eating their meals enjoying each other's company. After they finished up, Issei decided to ask Asia something in hopes to get more information about the situation between her and Rika.

"So, Asia, was their anything else this Kalawarner person told you before you ran away? Or maybe Raynare and Mittelt told you something?"

Asia had a calculating expression, and then looked at Issei to answer his question. "Other than wishing me good luck, that's all I can remember." She then remembered one last thing. "Oh, and Raynare told me to tell you that she said she was sorry."

Issei raised an eyebrow at that last sentence. 'Raynare, telling me she's sorry? Sorry for what?' Issei was puzzled at why she would apologize to him.

"To be honest," Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Asia continue to speak. "I wasn't sure if I was going to succeed in finding you. But I'm glad I was able to." Asia said the last sentence with a smile.

"You know what," Issei said, making Asia have a question mark appear on her head. "Since we're here, why don't we hang out together?"

Asia widened her eyes at his request, but then smiled. "Sure. That would be nice."

With that said, Issei and Asia left the restaurant and set off to have a good time with each other.

 ** _THE ARCADE_**

Issei and Asia were now at the arcade to play some games there. They played a racing game that Asia was surprisingly good at, making first place at the end of the race.

Then, they played a multiplayer game called Joust. Issei was surprised at how easy she picked up on how to play the game. She beated him with a high score of 35542 while Issei scored 29987.

After that game, Asia watched Issei get his groove on in a DDR game. It was embarrassing for him, but when Asia asked him to try it, he couldn't deny her due to having puppy eyes while asking him.

When Issei caught his breath after dancing on the machine, he took Asia to a photo booth to take some pictures of the two. Asia was surprised with the many features this photo booth has to make a picture more creative. After Issei set up the booth, the picture was taken. Issei printed out two copies of the photo after they've finished up, one for him to keep, and one for Asia to keep.

The two continued walking around the arcade to find another game to play. As they were walking, Asia's attention was caught by a crane machine that had yellow mouse-type plushies in it. Issei turned his head as he noticed her looking in the crane machine and walked over to her.

"See something you like?"

Asia quickly turned around as she heard Issei ask her a question.

"Oh, umm, I'm fine, really!" Asia answered with her cheeks light red.

Issei took a look at the machine that had the plushies she was staring at. "You like stuffed animals, Asia?"

Asia's cheeks turned darker after he asked her that.

"Well, I... Yeah... I do."

Asia then jumped at the sound of the machine starting up. She then turned and widened her eyes in surprise as she saw Issei playing the claw game.

"I've spent most of my weekends at arcades, so I kinda know how to win these things." After his explanation, he managed to catch the plushy and win it for Asia. "Nailed it!"

Asia smiled and clapped her hands at his accomplishment. Issei then handed the plushy to Asia and she started holding it in her two arms.

"Thanks for winning this little guy for me Issei." she thanked him. "From now on, every time I look at it, I'll remember how much of a blessing it's been to get to know you."

Issei laughed kindly at her kindness with a hint of red on his cheeks while scratching the back of his head. Afterwards, he continued walking to the next destination.

"Come on, Asia, there's plenty of stuff left to see."

"Oh, I'm coming!" replied Asia. Before she could catch up, she took another look at the plushy with a grateful smile. "Thank you very much. This is special, even if it is only for a day."

 _ **TIMESKIP**_

Issei and Asia were now at a vending machine outside to get a drink after spending time in the arcade. Issei got himself a Cola, and Asia got a Sprite. After they got their drinks, they made their way to the park and sat down at a nearby bench in front of the water fountain. Surprisingly enough, nobody was here except Issei and Asia, giving the green light to talk about whatever they want without weirding out other people. That is, if they ever do talk about something that involves something humans consider unnatural.

While the two were drinking, Asia was the first to break the silence. "You know what? I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun."

"Really?" Issei asked. "Well, I'm glad you did have fun. I had a great time too."

Before Issei could take another sip of his Cola, he felt his back sting and let out a grunt in pain. "What the heck?"

"Issei, are you hurt?"

Issei turned to Asia, who noticed his grunt. "Sorry, my back still hurts from those injuries I had due to the explosion of the house."

"I see," Asia said after learning the information. "Issei, would you like for me to heal them for you?"

Issei was taken back at her kindness and smiled to her. "That would be nice. Thanks."

Issei faced his back towards her so she can get to healing. She used her Sacred Gear to get the injuries taken care of, and like that boy who had a scrapped knee it worked like a charm. He could tell because he felt the pain go away in a matter of seconds.

"All done," Asia announced to him.

Issei got up from the bench and walked around for a while. "Wow, it's almost like I never got hurt! Thank you very much Asia!"

"Of course," Asia replied with a smile. "It's my pleasure."

At that moment, Issei decided to ask her a question in order to confirm everything that's happened so far. The blue haired Fallen Angel warning him about Rika's plans to murder Asia to obtain her Sacred Gear, and Asia having to stick with that pathetic excuse for a priest. He had to know what's going on.

"Hey, Asia," he said to her, getting her attention. "That power you have, is it a Sacred Gear?"

Asia widened her eyes at his question, wondering why he asked it. But she decided to answer him anyway because of how kind she found him to be.

"Yes, it is," she answered with a sad look with her smile intact. "It's called Twilight Healing, it's a special gift from God."

Hearing those words confirmed that she was the one Rika was after. 'If I see that blue haired Fallen Angel again, I better thank her for giving me the information.'

"Would you like to know how I got it?"

Issei widened his eyes a little at her question. Wanting to know everything so he can get a better understanding, he replied with, "Sure, I'm all ears. Go ahead and tell me everything."

After hearing him say those words, she nodded to him and began telling her story after he took a seat back on the bench.

"When I was a baby, I was abandoned by my real Parents."

Issei widened his eyes in shock after hearing that.

"They left me in front of a church in a small town in Europe. I was told when they found me, I wouldn't stop crying. The sweet nuns there brought me up. One day, when I was about eight, a sad little puppy, who was hurt real bad found its way into the church where I lived. I prayed as hard as I could that God would spare him. And when I did, a miracle happened. Because of my Sacred Gear, I was immediately taken to a larger church. Men and Women from all over the world would visit when they were injured or sick, and I was told to heal all of them. The idea that I possessed this thing that can actually help other people made me so happy. I finally felt like I had a purpose. But then one day, I came across someone who had fallen and was in bad shape. I was able to heal him, but he wasn't a man."

 _"This girl has the power to heal Devils?!"_

 _"Demon!"_

 _"She's a witch! Burn her!"_

"They said anyone who had my kind of power was a heretic, so I had no choice but to run away."

"That's awful," Issei said, feeling bad for the poor nun. "So after you took off, you decided to join the Fallen Angels?"

"Yes," replied Asia. "But I'll never forget who I am. I say my prayers and try my best to live a good life. Those three Fallen Angels, Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt, they were all so sweet to me."

Issei widened his eyes when she mentioned those three people being Fallen Angels. "Really? They never abused you or anything?"

"Of course not," Asia answered with a smile. "They were so gentle and welcoming." Her smile then morphed into a frown. "But as for Rika and Dohnaseek, those two are awful. They do such horrible evil things to innocent people and all in the name of God. I had to rely on those other three Fallen Angels to cheer me up from the madness those two cause."

Issei's eyes softened at her story. Those two Fallen Angels Rika and Dohnaseek do horrible things and she had the three good Fallen Angels comfort her in her time of need. After hearing that, it was enough reason for Issei to only care about who's good and who's bad; regardless of what faction they're from.

"This suffering has to be a test of my faith," Asia continued. "If I can overcome these trials, someday, I know my hopes and dreams will come true. That's what I believe anyway."

"What are your dreams?" Issei asked her.

"To make lots of life long friends," Asia answered, holding onto her plushy tightly. "To get to know them well and do cool things. To be able to have fun together and care for each other."

Issei widened his eyes a little as he noticed that tears were trying to leave her eyes.

"Honestly," Asia continued. "I'd be happy to have any friends."

At that moment, Issei stood up from his spot and looked at her with a determined look.

"Is something wrong?" Asia asked him.

"I don't care what anyone else says," Issei says truthfully. "I'm your friend. I mean, after what we've been through, How can we not be?"

Asia adopted a look of surprise after speaking that sentence.

"It's true," Issei continued. "I say we've gotten to know each other pretty well, wouldn't you? And I won you that plushy, so that's a plus. And I sure as heck care about you."

After saying that, Asia's face lighted up in happiness. But her expression turned sad.

"We can't. I care about you too, but we can't. It's forbidden, and I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"You're not causing any kind of trouble at all," Issei assured her. "We're friends, alright? And that's that."

"Really?" Asia asked with light red cheeks and tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"You bet," Issei answered with a encouraging wink.

"Alright then," Asia said. The tears in her eyes have finally fallen and rolled down her cheeks. "Thank you Issei."

"Not a problem at all Asia," replied Issei as he wiped away her tears with his thumb gently.

"Well, isn't that sweet."

Issei and Asia jumped when they heard a sarcastic voice of a woman. As Issei turned his head right, his look turned into a scowl as she recognizes the woman who had black feathered wings standing on the water in the water fountain.

"Rika."

"Rika-sama?"

"Get behind me Asia!" Issei instructed as he went in front of her. He then faced his attention towards the orange haired Fallen Angel.

"So, I see Rias Gremory actually did reincarnate you into her servant." Her attention then went to Asia with a dark expression. "Don't even try to run Asia."

"Begone!" Asia said to Rika while hiding behind Issei. "I want no part in the evil you and Dohnaseek are up to! That's why I ran away from you!"

"Don't worry Asia," Issei assured her, "You're too good for them. You don't belong to that Orange-haired bitch and that Dohnaseek bastard anyway!" His attention then went to the Fallen Angel. "Hear me, Rika! I will not allow you to murder her just so you can get your dirty hands on her Sacred Gear!"

Asia widened her eyes at his declaration, as did Rika's too

"How do you know about what I plan to do to her, boy?!" Rika asked, angered at how he knows about her plans.

Issei only smirked to her and replied, "I have no reasons to tell you, bitch!"

Rika then had a calculating look. "Maybe that bitch you rejected might've told you before you left."

"What?" Issei didn't know what she meant by 'The bitch he rejected'.

"It would make sense actually," Rika continued. "Raynare did have a crush on you for quite awhile now after she'd been tailing you."

Issei widened his eyes in remembrance of that name. It was the name of one of those three good Fallen Angels Asia told him about.

"What about Raynare?" Issei questioned. "Sorry to break it to you, but I don't know a Raynare!"

"Oh?" Rika said in surprise. "Your master never told you? In that case, I might as well tell you the details." Her look then turned sinister. "After your first week in school, I sent that bitch to take care of you while going by the name Yuuma Amano!"

Issei's eyes went as wide as saucers after hearing that information. 'Wait, _the_ Yuuma Amano? The Yuuma Amano that suddenly asked me out just because she thought I was cute? _That_ Yuuma Amano?!' Issei was in disbelief at this point.

"Is everything clear to you now?!" Rika asked devilishly. "After you rejected her, she became too much of a pussy to kill you while you weren't noticing due to her affections towards you still being intact! I tried punishing her to get her to do as I say, but it still didn't work! That fucking bitch!"

Issei was now in anger after hearing the information. Surprisingly, it was not because Yuuma was a Fallen Angel in disguise, it was because Rika was manipulating Yuuma's feelings just to get her to to what she wants.

"I can't tell if you're a bitch, or a female version of Freed!"

"Yeah, yeah," Rika said, dismissing his words towards her. She then looked at him sadistically. "Tell you what, If you wanna finish what you chickened out to do the last time we fought," Rika then conjured up an orange spear of light in her right hand. "Then I'd be happy to accommodate you!"

"Tsk!" Issei aimed his arm upwards towards the sky while it was in front of him. "Boosted Gear!"

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Issei summoned his Boosted Gear on his left arm. After he did so, he noticed something different about it. Instead of having ten gold spikes on it, there's only two of them. One spike on the left side of the elbow area, the other on the right. There's also only one gem on the gauntlet instead of two, with the second one supposed to be located on the elbow area of the gauntlet.

"That Sacred Gear!" Issei stopped observing the Gear as he heard Rika, who was now looking at him in total shock. "That's one of the Longinus Gears! The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, The Boosted Gear! That's impossible! Why of all people did it go to you?!"

Issei smirked at her after seeing her shocked look. "I guess I'm just one lucky son of a bitch!"

"Tsk!" Rika aimed her spear towards Issei. "Either way, I'm going kill you right here and right now!"

Before she could throw the spear at him, Issei veered right as she was charging at her, making her aim towards where he veered. She threw the spear at him, hoping to impale him where he stands, but he was able to dodge the attack and made it towards her, aiming his fist towards her face. However, she flew upwards, dodging his punch and landed outside of the fountain.

"Don't you dare think I'm gonna fall for your attempts in attacking me like I did our first encounter back when you were human, boy!"

Issei made a scowl at her and balled his gauntlet covered hand into a fist. "Boost me up!"

 _ **{Boost!}**_

'Alright! I can feel the power granted to me by my Boosted Gear! But I know it won't be enough.' Issei payed attention to Rika to see what she'll do next. Asia could only watch the two fight from afar with fear known on her face. Rika then conjured up another light spear, but instead of throwing it, she jumped in the air and lunged towards Issei with it. Issei only side-stepped out of the way as she impaled the spear into the ground. She tried to get it out so she could slash at Issei with it, but was to late when he delivered a butterfly kick to her face, launching her two feet away from him. After she landed on her left side, Issei charged at her, planning to kick her head like someone would when kicking off a football. Rika noticed him running towards him, so she rolled out of the way and conjured up another spear, aiming to slash at his legs with it. Issei noticed her movement with the spear and jumped over the spear before his legs can be slashed by it. After he jumped over her attack, he planted a dive kick into her face, sending her three feet away from him. She landed on her back with a thud and now had a bloody nose caused by the kick. She got up on her wobbly feet and gave Issei a death glare as she was holding onto her nose.

"Dammit!" Rika cursed. "I don't understand! How are you, a low-class Devil able to dodge my attacks and hurt me like this?! I've learned from our previous encounter not to underestimate you and readied myself for our next encounter, and yet I'm still being thrown around by a weakling!"

"Hmph! Isn't it obvious Rika?" Issei asked mockingly. "I trained."

"Eh?" Rika said with a question mark and sweat drop.

"Ever since I was eleven, I've been trained, and have been training myself in combat for as long as I can remember. I train for the purpose of protecting innocent people, like Asia for example, unlike you do!"

Rika gained a tick mark after he mentioned her in his last sentence. "What the hell are you trying to get at?!"

Issei looks at her with a serious look as he continued. "What I'm getting at is that you probably don't train in combat at all. You're afraid of losing and/or getting killed by your enemies, so you hope to take Asia's Sacred Gear so you can constantly keep fighting after you're taken down. You're pathetic."

Rika's eyebrow twitched and her tick mark grew bigger as he called her pathetic.

"And to top it all off," Issei continued. "You're a selfish bitch who cares about nobody but yourself!"

"Shut up you!" Rika snapped, only for Issei to chuckle at her anger.

"Why should I?" he asked her. "It's all true, You're a coward who doesn't take training seriously! You're willing to take an innocent girl's life just to easily obtain more power! You are the literal definition of a selfish-"

At that moment Issei felt a presence from behind him. However, he wasn't able to react in time because after he felt said presence, he got stabbed in the back, literally, by a blue spear of light. After coughing up some blood, he turned around to see who was responsible for attacking him from behind. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar man who has black feathered wings just like Rika does.

"Y-Y-You?! BLEUUAUGGGH!" Issei coughed up some more blood as he fell to his knees clutching onto his bleeding stomach.

"I must say Rika," the man began to speak. "I'm very disappointed in you for losing to that kid."

"Oh shut up, Dohnaseek!" she snapped. "As long as that brat's taken care of, we can finally get back to business."

"Issei!" Rika and the now-named Dohnaseek turned their heads to see Asia running towards the downed Issei. When she reached him, she immediately began healing his stab wound caused by the spear.

Issei noticed this and smiled to her with some blood still in his mouth. "Thanks, Asia. I really do appreciate it."

Dohnaseek was about to swat Asia away so Issei can keep bleeding.

"Let her, Dohnaseek!" Rika stopped him from hitting the nun, making him turn to Rika with a raised eyebrow. "I have a proposition for the little nun."

Asia turned to Rika after she was finished healing Issei. "What do you want?"

"One time, I promised myself that I would kill your precious friend if I ever catch him in my sight," Rika explained. "But since I'm in a hurry, I'll make a deal with you. Come with us so we can perform the ritual, and we'll let him live."

Asia widened her eyes in horror at her offer. She looked at Issei, and then at Rika. She did the same action two more times

"Alright...," Asia said in defeat. "I'll go with you..."

"Asia, No!" Issei was about to run after her and stop her, but as he was about to do so, he felt a light sword touching his neck, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"Don't even try it, kid." Dohnaseek told him, making him grit his teeth in rage.

As Asia made it to Rika, she cradled her in her arms and wrapped her body around with her wings.

"No need to fret, Asia," Rika said to Asia. "After the big ritual tonight, all of your worries and troubles will be gone forever."

Dohnaseek went to Rika while pointing his sword at him, making sure he doesn't try to snatch Asia from Rika.

"Until we see each other again, Issei Hyoudou," Rika said with an evil smile.

"No, Asia!" Issei cried out to her friend.

"Goodbye Issei," Asia said with tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'll miss you. Thank you... For everything."

With that said, Rika and Dohnaseek teleported away from the park with Asia, leaving Issei alone.

After five seconds have past, Issei fell to his knees and looked down at the ground in distraught. 'Why couldn't I save her?!' Issei then noticed something out of the corner of his right eye. He turned right, only to widen his eyes as he noticed two things on the ground nearby. He stood up and ran towards the items. When he made it to the items, his eyes grew wider as he now has a good look at the items. It was Asia's plushy and the second copy of the photo from the photobooth he gave to Asia. After staring at them for awhile, his expression morphed into anger and rage.

"DAMMIT!"

Issei punched a nearby tree with his boosted gear arm and made a small crater from the area he punched. He started breathing heavily, trying to calm down from his anger. He never felt like wanting to kill someone in his entire life other than that psychopathic priest. After he calmed himself down, he picked up the plushy and photo and headed towards his home to store them in his room so he can give them back to Asia after he rescues her. But he can't do this alone.

"I need to tell Rias about this right now!" Issei declared. After storing the plushy and photo into his room via his window, he went to his next destination: the Occult Research Club."

 ** _OCCULT RESEARCH CLUB ROOM_**

*SLAP!*

After Issei explained to his president that Asia was taken by the Fallen Angels and told her that they needed to help her, he got what he kinda saw coming.

"Let me try one more time, if I say don't, you _don't_!" Issei didn't show it, but after she said that, he was getting pretty pissed off.

"You have to forget about Asia," Rias scolded. "You are a member of the Gremory family now!"

"I'm sorry, Buchou," Issei replied with anger in his eyes. "But I can't do that. I'm not the type of guy to abandon a friend just like that."

Rias crossed her arms under her bust after hearing his words. "While I appreciate your kindness towards that nun, I still can't allow you to help her. Are you trying to cause trouble for us Devils?"

"You don't understand!" Issei snapped at her, fed up with this whole 'can't save her because she's a different faction' crap. Rias widened her eyes a little at his snap. "If we don't save her, then that Fallen Angel Rika's going to doom us all!"

Rias raised an eyebrow at his reasons. "What are you talking about, Ise?"

This gave Issei the green light to let it all out. "Asia has a Sacred Gear called Twilight Healing. It can heal any kind of wound to anyone regardless of what race they are!"

Rias now had wide eyes at this information, as well as Koneko and Kiba, except for Akeno because she wasn't here. Since Rias wasn't saying anything after that, Issei continued from there.

"Rika plans to murder Asia by performing some kind of ritual so she can obtain said Sacred Gear! If we let Rika get her hands on Twilight healing, who knows what kind of hell we're going to be in. She might even start a war worse than World War III going crazy about how invincible she is with the Sacred Gear, and World War III Hasn't even started yet!"

Rias was thinking to herself about this. 'A Fallen Angel killing a nun just to obtain her power and go rampant with it?'

"And that's why," Rias was snapped from her thoughts when she heard Issei continue to talk. "I refuse to just sit there and let Rika do what she wants just because I'm a Devil and Asia's a nun! I don't give a damn about factions anymore! All I care about now is who's good and who's bad; regardless of what faction they're from! After hearing Asia's past, I've learned that there _can_ be good Fallen Angels and Bad ones, and vice versa with other factions! I may be a Devil, but I have a HEART Dammit!"

Rias, Koneko, and Kiba's eyes have become as wide as saucers at his speech. They did not expect Issei to have such passion in his words with such a serious expression. It made them question if he was some kind of Angel in disguise.

The silence and staring carried on for two minutes until the door suddenly opened, getting everyone's attention. Akeno has entered the room and was walking towards Rias. When she made it to her, she whispered something in her ear that made Rias widen her eyes once again. She nodded afterwards and turned to her other three servants while walking towards the exit with her Queen.

"Something has come up," Rias announced to them. "Akeno and I have to leave for a moment." She then turned her attention solely to Issei, getting his attention. "Remember Ise, even if you're promoted, no matter their rank, a single Devil can't take on a Fallen Angel, or any kind of enemy."

Before Issei could respond to her, she and Akeno teleported away via a magic circle. After three seconds, Issei's look has become determined.

"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" After asking that question to no one in particular, he made his way towards the exit.

"You going to save Asia?" Issei turned his head to see Kiba asking him that question.

"Damn right I am!" Issei's serious expression was still intact as he answered his question. "If you plan on stopping me, you got another thing coming, pal."

"You're gonna get killed, you know?"

Issei scoffed at his next question. "Like I care! As long as Asia lives on, that's all that matters to me!"

"That's very brave of you," Kiba replied. "But very stupid too. It's suicide."

Issei glared at Kiba after hearing his opinion. "Why don't you-"

*SHING!*

Issei widened his eyes to see that Kiba now has a sword by his side.

"I'm coming with you," Kiba announced to him.

"What?" Issei was surprised at his sudden announcement.

"Weren't you listening to Buchou for some hints?" Kiba asked. "If you get in that church, you're promoted."

"Eh?"

"But she also said you won't be able to make it there on your own." he finished.

"So?" Issei said with a raised eyebrow.

"So we're gonna back you up," answered Kiba. "And there's no way in hell we're gonna let you go in there alone, so you might as well save your breath, my friend."

Issei then turned to Koneko. "You too, Koneko-chan?"

"There's nothing else going on," Koneko answered.

Issei's face lit up in happiness at the situation. "Thank you two, Thank you very much!"

Before Issei could turn around towards the door, he felt his shirt being tugged from behind. He turned around to see that it was Koneko who got his attention. "What's up?"

"You're gonna need this."

Issei looked at what she had in her hand in surprise. She was handing him a silver baseball bat to use as a weapon. Upon further inspection, it was the same bat he used when he fought Rika back when he was human. Issei smiled to her and took the bat from her hands.

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," he said to her, earning a small smile from her. He then turned around towards the exit with the bat resting on his shoulder. "Alright folks, let's do this!"

With that said, the three Devils set off to the church to rescue Asia from Rika.

 _ **OUTSIDE THE CHURCH**_

"Come now, Raynare, just admit your crimes already!"

Rika and Dohnaseek were currently interrogating three female Fallen Angels that were on there knees.

One had silky black hair that reached down her hair and violet eyes. Her attire showed off quite too much of her skin, only consisting of black leather straps with black thigh-high heel boots. She was currently bruised up after being beaten up by Rika and Dohnaseek.

The second one had navy blue hair and was currently looking at her friend with guilt and worry.

The third one was a blonde-haired girl who had her hair styled into twintails and blue eyes. Her attire was of a Gothic-Lolita style, which consisted of a black dredd with white frills, a large black bow on the front with another one on top of her hair, and a green jewel embedded on the collar. She also wore white thigh-high socks and black shoes for her footwear. She too was looking in Raynare's direction with worry.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Raynare insisted to the two Fallen Angels interrogating her.

"Come clean, you whore," Dohnaseek spat. "We know you still have feelings towards the kid, so it made you to tell him everything, didn't it?!"

"I swear, I didn't tell him anything!" Raynare said to them, only for Dohnaseek to sigh and conjure up a light sword. He then turned to Rika.

"Shall I do this the hard way?"

"Heh. Why the hell not?"

After getting her permission, Dohnaseek slowly edged the light sword towards Raynare's chest, making her fear for her life. Before he could cut off her top...

"It was me, alright?!"

Everyone turned their heads to hear the blue haired Fallen Angel shout out those words to Rika, who had a raised eyebrow at her confession.

"Kalawarner, you told the brat?"

"Yes," The now-named Kalawarner confirmed. "When I first noticed Issei walking at night, I took that chance to tell him what you bastards were up to. If you want to take your anger out on someone, then take it out on me!"

"No, Kalawarner, don't!" The Blonde Fallen Angel said to her.

"Don't worry, Mittelt," Kalawarner assured the now-named Blonde girl. "We'll get help, I'm sure of it. So I don't care what happens to me."

Mittelt and Raynare looked on at her bravery. Kalawarner was willing to take all the beatings she can just to protect her two friends.

"Really?" Rika said, conjuring up a light spear and approaching her, ready to stab her with the spear. "In that case-"

*SHINE!*

Everyone turned their heads as they noticed a red magic circle on the ground.

*POOF!*

Their eyes have now widened as they saw two Devils appear before them: Rias and Akeno.

"Well, what do we have here?" Rias was the one who broke the silence.

"Lady Gremory!" Rias' attention was now at Kalawarner. "You must hurry, Rika plans to-"

*BAM!* "Shut up, bitch!" Rika kicked Kalawarner in the face before she could finish her sentence. Her glare then went to Rias. "I assume that brat of yours told you about my plans?"

"Indeed, he has," Rias replied with a smirk. "And he along with two more of my servants are currently on their way to rescue the nun. And no, we'll make no attempt to rescue them."

"Tsk!" Rika's expression has become infuriated. Then she smirked devilishly as she turned to Dohnaseek.

"You take care of those Devils, I'm gonna get this ritual over with before those other three Devils get to her."

Dohnaseek nodded to her as she took off to the church. He then set his sights towards the Devils, ready for combat. Meanwhile, Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt hid behind a tree and could only watch the Devils and Dohnaseek fight. Raynare herself held a hand to her chest while looking at the church.

'Please be safe, Issei-kun.'

 ** _ENTRANCE OF THE CHURCH_**

Issei, Kiba, and Koneko were at the entrance of the church Asia is being held in. Issei and Kiba were hiding behind their own trees while Koneko hid behind the bushes.

"You folks feel that?" Issei asked his two comrades, using his reiatsu sensing abilities on the church.

"Yup," replied Kiba. "There must be a ton of stray priests and exorcists in there."

"Damn," Issei commented. "I'm starting to become glad you guys came with me."

"Hey, don't sweat it," Kiba replied with a smile. "You and I are friends after all, so we need to watch our backs." Kiba's look then turned serious. "Besides, Fallen Angels aren't exactly my favorite things in the world. Truth is, I hate them."

Issei looked at him with a concerned expression. "I see. But please, don't hate all of them, alright?"

Kiba had a questioning look on his face after he asked him that favor.

"There can be good Fallen Angels as well," Issei continued. "I should know, because one did warn me that Rika would kill Asia."

Kiba was thinking to himself for a moment, and then looked to Issei. "No promises, Issei."

Issei sighed at his answer, but decided to leave it at that. He then noticed Koneko walking towards the entrance of the church.

"Koneko-chan, hold up!"

"No need to use stealth," replied Koneko. "They know we're here."

With that said, Issei and Kiba went to Koneko's side. Kiba readied his sword as Issei readied his bat. Koneko kicked the double doors open, allowing the trio to enter the church.

Upon entering, Issei noticed how dark the church was, and some destroyed statues resting next to some of the pews.

"What the hell kind of church is this?" Issei asked himself.

The trio then heard the sound of footsteps to their left, and Issei made a scowl as he recognized who this 'person' was.

"So, we meet again, shitty Devils," Freed said with a sincere smile. "Glad you could make it. I bet I'm a sight for sore eyes, huh?"

"No, not really," replied the scowling Issei.

"Here's the thing," Freed continued. "I pride myself on the fact that I never have to battle any shitty Devil more than once. And yet here you are, just rubbing it in. If there's one thing I won't abide, it's being mocked by shitty Devils in the house of God! And don't even get me started on the fact that you didn't become a Hollow!"

Issei could only scowl at his words, not caring about what this psychopath says.

Freed pulled out his light sword and pistol out, ready for combat. "So, whaddaya say we finish this?!" His expression then turned to one of a psychopathic killer. "The fun of tearing you fuckers apart simply makes my mouth water!" He then proceeded to lick the top of his pistol perversely.

"Where's Asia, you freak!" Issei exclaimed, fed up with this stray exorcist's insanity.

"Oh, you mean that Devil loving whore of a sister?" Freed asked. "All you have to do is go down to the basement. She's right beneath the alter where we're currently standing on. But if you want to go there, you're gonna have to go through me first!"

"Boosted Gear!"

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Koneko made the first move to attack. She threw a pew at Freed's direction, only for him to slice it in half with his light sword.

"You're pretty strong for a midget, aren't you?" Freed asked her sarcastically.

Koneko's right eye twitched at the word 'midget'.

Freed then noticed the speeding of a certain knight that was attempting to attack him, but freed was able to block all of his attacks while trying to shoot him down with his pistol.

"Come on, is that all you got?!" asked Freed. "Show me something interesting!"

Kiba then clashed swords once more with Freed. "I must admit, you're quick."

"You're not so bad yourself," replied Freed, who aimed his pistol at Kiba's head. "That makes me wanna kill you even more!"

Kiba used his knight speed to lean backwards, dodging the bullet Freed shot from his gun and flipped backwards from him. Issei watched the battle between Kiba and Freed, impressed with his friend's skill in combat.

"Alright then, if you want to get serious about this, then I can too." After saying this, Kiba's blade of the sword turned black and he readied himself for Freed's next move, smirking.

Freed charged forward with his light sword, intending to cut his head off, but Kiba blocked the attack with his sword. After he blocked it, a black magic aura surrounded the blade, making Freed look at the swords with a puzzled look.

"What the hell is this?!"

"The Holy Eraser," Kiba replied with his smirk still intact. "It's a sword of darkness that devours light."

"Oh please," Freed scoffed. "You think I'm Afraid of you?!"

"Kiba has a Sacred Gear too?" Issei asked himself in surprise.

"Issei, you're on!" Kiba signals.

"Right! Power up, boost!"

 ** _{Boost!}_**

"Alright, that's it!" Freed says in annoyance as he aims his pistol towards Issei. "No more fucking around!"

 _ **MEANWHILE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH**_

"I hope you two realize that I'm not gonna let you go that easily," Dohnaseek says to Rias and Akeno.

Rias only smirked to the Fallen Angel. "Yes, we are quite aware of that. Akeno."

"Already on it," replied Akeno. She then raised her right hand towards the night sky, causing storm clouds that shot yellow lightning to appear above her. A giant bolt of lightning crashed down to Akeno, but not to zap her. This bolt of lightning made her clothes magically disappear, exposing her naked body. After her clothes disappeared, a miko attire has appeared as her new clothing. It consisted of a white haori with red accents, a red hakama, and a pair of zori with white tabi. After obtaining her new attire, she raised both of her hands into the sky, making red circles appear in the sky and surround her, Rias, and Dohnaseek.

"What did that Devil do?" Mittelt asked to her friends.

"She created a barrier around her, Lady Gremory, and Dohnaseek," explained Kalawarner. She then turned to Raynare, who was still looking at the church. 'She's still worried about Issei-kun.'

"Was this your plan the whole time?!" Dohnaseek asked Akeno.

"Yup," she replied. "And I'm gonna take a whole lot of pleasure out of watching you in pain. Hope you're into S&M. Fufufufu~"

"This is the end of the line for you, Dohnaseek," Rias announced with her smirk still intact.

"Hmph, go ahead and act as confident as you want, Gremory girl," responded Dohnaseek. "The ritual's almost done, and once it's over, not even you will have the power to stand against me, and Lady Rika!"

Hearing that made Kalawarner and Mittelt look at the church.

"Come on, Issei-kun," Kalawarner said with hope in her voice and eyes. "You have to save her."

 _ **BACK INSIDE THE CHURCH**_

"Promotion to Rook!"

After he chose the piece to promote to, Issei was charging at Freed with his baseball bat ready.

"Try me, shitty Devil!" Freed started shooting at Issei with his pistol, but he was able to block the bullets with his Boosted Gear thank's to the Rook's powerful defensive strength. Eventually Freed ran out of ammo, allowing Issei to go for the attack.

"Yup, I'm fucked." Freed said with a deadpan.

Issei swung the bat into the stray exorcist's face and succeeded the attack, causing Freed to drop his gun fly back into the first row of pews to Issei's left.

"That's for what you've done to Asia, fucker!"

Freed got up from the attack and shot a glare at Issei. "God fucking dammit! I'll be damned if I let a trio of shitty Devils get the best of me!" Freed jumped back from the group and pulled something out of his coat pocket. "You've won the battle, but not the war, fuckers!" He proceeded to throw a mysterious object on the ground towards his feet. After the object landed, it exploded into a bright light, forcing Issei and his friends to shield their eyes.

After the light went away, Issei widened his eyes in surprise to see that he was nowhere to be found. He couldn't even find his reiatsu anywhere. The only one he felt was the one that's in the basement below him, which he guessed belonged to Rika due to how dark it felt.

"Guys," Koneko got Issei and Kiba's attention as she destroyed a tall wooden counter that carried candles on top, revealing a secret passage. After nodding to each other, the proceeded downstairs.

When they made it to the basement, Issei was not prepared for the sight that his eyes were given to.

"Come on in Devils, welcome to the party," Rika announced to the trio with an evil smile. "Though I'm afraid you're too late."

What Issei saw was Rika, fifty stray exorcists, and something that made him widen his eyes in fear.

"Asia!"

Asia was strapped onto a black cross that had white markings on it on a chain. She was stripped off of all her clothes except for her white bra and panties. She slowly looked up as she recognized the voice calling to her.

"Issei, you came."

"That's right, I'm here for you!" Issei replied. Before he could run to her and try to set her free, Kiba grabbed onto his arm to stop him.

"Hold up, Issei!"

Before he could pull him away, an orange spear of light impaled the ground in front of them and went off like an explosive, knocking the two against a wall.

"I must admit, this really is a touching reunion," Rika said mockingly. "Unfortunately for you, the ritual's over."

The black cross' white markings began to glow green, followed by Asia screaming in pain.

"Let Asia go right now, you rotten bitch!" Issei snapped at her.

"You weren't lying, Issei," Kiba said to him, "She is after her Sacred Gear."

Issei widened his eyes at the scene before him. "This must be how Rika's doing it!"

As Asia continued screaming in pain, a black aura with green outlining surrounded her while the ritual's in progress.

"Hey Kiba," Issei got his fellow Devil's attention. "Isn't there a way to stop the ritual?!"

"I'm sorry, Issei," Kiba said to him with a sad expression.

Issei didn't need him to finish the sentence. He knew what he was gonna say, and that made him tighten his grip on his bat in anger.

The flow of the black aura with green outlining has stopped, and Asia immediately went quiet. Then, two rings that had a glowing green light surrounding them have levitated out of her body. After the rings left her body, Asia's head fell down towards the ground, her chains still holding her up on the cross.

Issei couldn't believe what he saw. He was too late. He couldn't stop the ritual in time to save Asia. Right now, he was feeling so many emotions: Anger, Sadness, Rage, Hatred, and Denial. Tears were now threatening to leave his brown eyes now.

"Twilight Healing," Rika said, catching Issei's, and everyone else's attention. "At last, it's finally mine!" Rika grabbed the rings from the air and placed them to her chest. Her body began to glow a bright green light, making everyone shield their eyes with their arms. After the light dimmed down, The Devils started hearing Rika laugh evilly.

"With this power, I'm unstoppable! I'll be beloved, I'll be the most powerful Fallen Angel to exist! All those pricks who fucked me over are now going to regret it!"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Issei charged at her, fueled by rage. However, some stray exorcist noticed his move and went to attack him. One tried slash at him with his light sword, but Issei blocked the attack with his Boosted Gear and kneed him in the gut, making the stray fall to the ground, face first. Afterwards, Issei smashed his skull open by hitting it with his bat five times, making the stray's head almost _not_ look like a human head.

Everyone, including Kiba, Koneko, and even Rika Widened their eyes in shock at Issei's actions. Issei's eyes were filled with rage. He never felt this angry in his entire life until now. Issei then directed his rage-fueled eyes towards Rika, who had a look of fear while a small drop of sweat ran down her head.

 _ **{Boost!}**_

"Quick!" one of the stray exorcists said. "Kill him before he kills Lady Rika!"

Another stray lunged at Issei with the sword, but he noticed him dodged his attack and swung his bat at his leg, breaking it in the process.

"AAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

"FUCK OFF, BASTARD!"

Issei finished him off by smashing his head with the bat, making a small crator out of it and a pool of blood too.

"Try this, Devil scum!" A female stray pulled out her pistol and aimed it at Issei, who noticed her actions from the corner of his eye. He approached the stray at an unbelievable speed, making her widen her eyes at his movement.

Kiba looked at this in shock. 'No way! He promoted to a Rook, so how was he able to approach her at such speed?!'

Koneko on the other hand, looked on in shock and fear. She couldn't help but notice that a small amount of aura was leaking from Issei's body. And for some reason, it looked and felt familiar to her.

Issei knocked the gun out of the stray's hand with his bloodied bat, breaking her hand in the process, making her scream in pain. He then finished her off by swinging the bat across her face sideways as hard as he could. Blood spurted from her face after the bat collided with it, and she dropped dead afterwards.

The rest of the stray exorcists were now scared of him. He killed three of them now, and who knows which stray's gonna be next to meet his blood-drenched bat.

"COME ON YOU PATHETIC EXCUSES FOR EXORCISTS," Issei roared at the top of his lungs. "I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!"

 _ **{Explosion!}**_

The strays looked on at the rage-fueled Devil. Wanting to end this quickly, every remaining one surrounded him and charged at him with their light swords ready.

Issei was able to overcome them, dodging every slash and blocking every bullet fired at him while smashing skulls of the stray exorcists with his blood-drenched bat.

 ** _{Boost!}_**

Kiba and Koneko, could only look on in horror at the battle between Issei and the stray exorcists, while Rika was watching the fight in disbelief. It was slowly becoming a bloodbath. Issei was killing off stray after stray with only one swing of his bat at their heads, successfully dodging slash after slash and bullet after bullet.

 _ **{Boost!}**_

There were now only twenty stray exorcists left. Issei's bat was nearly painted entirely red by the deceased strays' blood.

"*Pant.* *Pant.* *Pant.* *Pant.*" Issei was now exhausted. He was now out of breath after all of the dodging, blocking and attacking.

"He has no stamina left!" One stray announced to the others.

"Now's our chance!"

The remaining twenty strays charged at him and readied their light swords to slash him. Issei raised his bat up, ready for combat, but he didn't have the strength to counter all of their attacks. 'Dammit! At this rate, I'm screwed!"

Before any of the strays could cut him down, Issei widened his eyes to see Kiba blocking the stray leading the attack's sword and destroying it with his Holy Eraser's ability. After destroying the sword, Kiba cut the stray down, killing him in the process. Koneko jumped into the fight and punched five of the strays together like bowling pins. After that Kiba and Koneko continued the fight from there, with Kiba taking care of the first half, while Koneko was taking on the other half.

Issei looked on at the two fighting off the stray exorcists, once again, impressed with how they're able to hold their own.

"Thank you two!" Issei said to them as he ran towards where Asia was still chained up to. "Asia!"

When he finally made it to her, he looked at Asia's still body, which made him widen his eyes in shock.

"I must say, you've put up quite a fight back there," Rika complimented. "You deserve a reward for making it this far."

With a snap of her fingers, Asia was released from the cross.

"I got you," Issei said to her as he caught her before she could fall to the ground.

"Asia, are you okay? Asia!"

Asia slowly opened her eyes when she heard a familiar voice.

"Issei, you actually came."

"Yeah, of course I did," replied Issei with softened eyes and a smile. "Stay with me, I'm gonna get you out of here."

Asia looked at Issei and smiled to him. "Okay..."

"Go ahead and take the girl," Issei looked up and scowled when he heard Rika. "I already got what I needed."

"You crazy bitch!" Issei snapped at her. "Give her back her Sacred Gear right now!"

"So tough," Rika said sarcastically. "Sorry, I had to betray my superiors to obtain this power." She then formed an orange spear of light into her right hand. "But the good news is that you get to die together with her, along with your other friends as well." She ended her sentence with a sadistic grin and aimed the spear at his back. Before she could pierce him, Issei dodged her attack and regrouped with his friends, earning a glare from Rika.

"Issei!" Kiba got Issei's attention as he looked towards him. "Take Asia and get out of here, now!"

"What?! Are you Crazy?!" Issei asked his comrade dumbfounded. "I can't leave you two here!"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine!" Kiba assured him. "Just run!"

"Go, Issei-senpai!" Koneko agreed with Kiba.

Issei's eyes teared up at their words. They were willing to keep the enemy at bay while he took off with Asia. He had such a great group of friends.

"Thank you. Thank you, my friends! I promise once this is all over, you'll never have to bail me out again! Just don't die on me back there!"

With that said, Issei ran his way back upstairs to the church while his two friends kept the enemy at bay.

'I will get stronger after this is all over! My basic combat won't be enough against the supernatural! I'll get stronger, and be prepared for anyone or anything that wishes to cause harm to any innocent people next time!'

 _ **MEANWHILE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH**_

Rias, Akeno, and Dohnaseek were clashing attacks at each other while the other three Fallen Angels could only look on at the fight from outside the barrier Akeno created. Well... Two of the three female Fallen Angels were watching the fight while Raynare still had her eyes on the church, holding both of her hands onto her chest, hoping that Issei would come back alive.

"What's taking Issei-kun so long in there?" she asked in worry."

"I don't know," Kalawarner replied. "What I'm wondering is how long will the barrier that black haired Devil made last."

"You might as well give up, Rias," Dohnaseek said to her. "Lady Rika might've already killed that little runt of yours."

"If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate him," Rias told him with a serious expression. "Let's just say he's the most powerful and strongest Pawn I've ever seen."

"A Pawn?" Dohnaseek laughed after hearing Rias call Issei that. "Last time I checked, Pawns are sacrificial meat-shield pieces!"

"Nonsense," countered Akeno. "We would never sacrifice any of our members. We're a family."

 ** _BACK INSIDE THE CHURCH_**

Issei went to the farthest pew and gently placed her there and propped his bat next to himself. Asia's breathing is now slow.

"Hang in there, Asia," Issei encouraged. "Once we get out of here we're free! Stay with me, please!"

Asia looked to Issei's direction and slowly lifted up her right hand. Issei then clasped onto her hand with both of his.

"That's it! Be strong!"

"I know it wasn't for a very long time, but I'm so blessed to meet a friend like you, even if you are a Devil."

Issei was on the verge of crying at this point.

"It's not over, okay? We're going to be friends for a lot longer than this, you hear me?"

Asia continued to look at his friend with a smile on her face.

"When you feel better, we'll go have some more fun at the arcade, or I'll teach you how to play bowling. You can't give up now! You can't let my friends down too, you know? You still have to meet them. I know they'll like you once they get to know you well. They may be Devils like myself, but I swear, those guys are great to hang out with. " A tear finally fell from Issei's left eye and landed on Asia's hand. "I can tell we're gonna have one hell of a time together after this is all over." Now, more tears were falling onto her hand while some were rolling down his cheeks. "There's other places to go too: like the carnival, the aquarium, and a petting zoo. Where should we go?"

"I wish I could be different," Asia said. "It would've been great to have grown up in this country. And go to your school too."

"You still can," Issei assured her while crying. "And school will be a lot more fun with you around."

Asia caressed her hand onto his left cheek, making him have a surprised expression at her actions.

"I never wanted to make you cry..." Asia said, now developing tears in her own eyes. "Oh Issei... Thank you for everything... Goodbye..."

Asia's hand left Issei's cheek as her last breath was drawn.

"No... Why..." Issei's eyes flooded with more tears as he looked at her corpse with wide eyes.

"Why, God?! Why did she have to die?!" Issei shouted towards the ceiling. "She was such a kind girl, and yet she had to go through all of this hell! How could you just let her walk around being despised by other people just because she made a simple mistake. She didn't know that man she healed was a Devil, and yet you never bothered telling her in some way, shape, or form that he _was_ one?! IT MAKES NO SENSE, DAMN YOU! Asia didn't deserve to have such a terrible life! If you actually _do_ care about her, and you _do_ forgive people of their sins, then please, bring her back! All she wanted to do was make a lot of friends! She did with me, and she would have with so many others! Is it because of me?! Are you denying her just because I'm a Devil?! Is that it?! In case you haven't noticed my actions, I'm a Devil unlike any other!"

"A Devil trying to communicate with God?"

Issei widened his eyes in anger, picked up his bloodied bat, and turned around to see an evil smirking Fallen Angel.

"What are you doing here Rika?!"

 _ **MEANWHILE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH**_

Akeno attempted to block Dohnaseek's spear of light that was thrown at her. She succeeded in blocking it, but was knocked back by the explosion of the spear, bringing her down on one knee.

"It doesn't matter what that kid's capable of," Dohnaseek said to the devils. "He doesn't stand a chance against Lady Rika!" He then conjured up another light spear. "Even if he did kick her ass a couple of times!"

Rias' expression has turned into a scowl after he started laughing.

"A powerful Pawn, what a fucking joke!" After saying that, he threw his spear at Rias, aiming for her heart. However, Rias just stood there with her scowl continuing to grow.

"Watch out!" Akeno warned her, but the spear was already near Rias.

At that moment, Rias' entire body was surrounded by her crimson power, and it destroyed the spear before it could ever pierce her.

"She deflected it!" Kalawarner said from afar as she watched the fight.

"He's not a joke," Rias said to Dohnaseek. Her red hair was now covering her eyes. "No one makes fun of my servants. And if they do, they're gonna pay the price for it."

Dohnaseek looked on in horror at the crimson power surrounding the power. "Oh, shit!"

"Look what you did now," Akeno said to the Fallen Angel. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to taunt her and Issei-kun like that. Whoopsie on you~"

Rias started gathering power in her hands in the form of a black aura with red outlining and launched it at Dohnaseek. After being engulfed by the attack, the area where he was flashed a bright red right, making the other three Fallen Angels cover their eyes with their arms.

 _ **BACK INSIDE THE CHURCH**_

"Take a look at this wound I have, Issei," Rika showed the cut on her left arm to him.

"Where are Kiba and Koneko?!" Issei questioned with anger in his tone.

Rika ignored his question and placed the palm of her right hand above her wound. Her hand glowed green and it healed the wound.

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" She asked him. "No matter the injury , I heal instantly. A perfect gift for those of us who no longer have the benefit of divine protection, wouldn't you say?" She then clasped her hands on her cheeks with a menacing look on her face. "And now, I'll show all of those bastards how strong I am with this new power! I shall prove to everyone once and for all that I am the supreme Fallen Angel!"

"What does that matter?"

Rika raised an eyebrow at his question.

"What does that have to do with Asia?" he continued. "She wasn't a threat! She didn't care about power!"

"Unfortunately, for those who have Sacred Gears, this is their destiny."

"Bullshit!" Issei countered. "She never would've used it! She just wanted to live in piece, dammit!"

"Out of the question," responded Rika.

"Why?!"

"Humans don't have the ability to survive in their world with their Sacred Gears. Even if they choose to use the power for good, they are seen as different and would be tortured out of fear."

 _ **FLASHBACK**_

 _Asia's words:_

 _"They said anyone who had my power was a Heretic, so I had no choice but to run away."_

 _"Honestly, I'd be happy to have any friends."_

 ** _FLASHBACK END_**

"Have you ever heard of anything more absurd?" Rika asked Issei. "That's just how humans operate. heh! Such an unfortunate waste of power."

"That wouldn't have happened!" argued Issei. "I was her friend and I could've protected her from all of that shit! I wouldn't have let anyone hurt her! Ever!"

"Well, she's dead now!" countered Rika with a sinister smile. "And here you are talking about protecting her! Do you realize how stupid you sound right now?! If you were to protect her, then why is she dead then?! I'll tell you why, it's because you were _weak_!"

"You shut the fuck up!" Issei spat while his hair covered his eyes. He then readied himself with the Boosted Gear, and his bloodied baseball bat. "I'll never forgive you for what you done! And I'll never forgive myself either!"

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Rika widened her eyes as she heard his Sacred Gear make that announcement.

"And that's why... I WILL AVENGE HER!"

 _ **{Explosion!}**_

After that announcement, Issei charged at her with the bat, intending to strike her with it. But Rika flew upwards and got far behind him, dodging the attack.

"You think charging at me blinded by rage will get you anywhere?!" Rika asked mockingly. "What a joke!"

"GRRRRRRR!"

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Issei charged at her again after boosting himself up. He tried striking her again, but she dodged his second attempt in attacking her.

"And your still gonna test me? How cute~"

After turning around to face her, he was about to try again, but...

 _ **{Burst!}**_

Issei dropped his bat and fell to the ground on his hands and knees after his Boosted Gear made that announcement, feeling fatigue in the progress.

'Dammit! I guess when it says that, it means that I've must've used too much of it's power.'

"And this is where you die."

Issei looked up to see Rika in the air holding two spears in both of her hands. Issei tried to get up, but do to the fatigue, it was taking him a long time to do so. By the time he finally got up on his wobbly feet, The two spears stabbed his knees and impaled the ground, forcing him to standing where he was. Issei attempted to pull the spears out of his knees, but once his hands made contact with them, they started to burn in pain.

"Our light is toxic to Devils," explained Rika with sinister eyes and grin. "Just touching it scorches your bodies! It's said to be the most intense and worse pain a Devil can endure. So, what do you think? I want your opinion."

"What do I care if it is?!" Issei struggled to get the spears out. Not caring about the pain, he succeeded in doing so. "This is nothing! Nothing compared to what Asia went through!" Issei then threw the spears away, disappearing afterwards. "I'll put up with anything for her!"

"How sweet of you to say," replied Rika. "But I'm afraid this is where your little adventure ends, Issei Hyoudou."

After she said that, Issei fell to his hands and knees again. 'Dammit, that light in those spears must be still affecting me.'

"See what I mean?" Rika asked with an evil giggle.

Issei then falls onto the ground face first due to the blood loss in his knees. Issei used the remaining strength he had left to stare at Rika with hatred in his eyes.

"Damn you!"

Rika laughed at his curse to her. "I guess that makes us even then, huh? You took me down back when you were human, and I said those exact same words to you. Now, the tables have turned. Only difference is that you never had the balls to finish me off back then, or at least knock me out with that damn baseball bat! But for my case, I'm leaving you to bleed and die!"

Issei's head was now facing towards the ground, running out of strength to keep his glare on her.

"Well, this is where we part ways," Rika said to him. "I think I'll go and pay your master a visit and show off my new power!"

Issei widened his eyes at her words. 'No! Buchou!'

"Farewell, Issei Hyoudou." With that said, she flew through the window, leaving a trail of her black feathers.

'No! I can't let her do this! I have to get up! Come on! Get up, dammit!'

Issei was able to successfully get back up on one knee, but it took him some time to do so. That was also when he noticed something bewildering to his eyes.

The trail of feather's Rika supposedly left behind are still in the air, as well as some shards of glass from her flying threw a window. In fact, They weren't moving at all. They were suspended into the air as if the whole world paused.

"What in the hell... is going on..."

 **{Issei Hyoudou.}**

Issei widened his eyes and snapped his neck right as he heard a familiar voice. His eyes then widened even further as he recognizes a certain Welsh Dragon.

"D-D-... Ddraig?"

 _ **To be continued...**_

 **Hello again folks! I know, what a friggin cliffhanger. But hey, I didn't want the chapter to be too long. XD But don't worry, I promise the next chapter will be the final one for the Rika Arc. And to clear up the ending of this chapter, no, Issei's Boosted Gear and his Hollow powers will not be meshed into one power. That would be unbelievably complicated.**

 **You must've also noticed that I've uploaded this chapter after I said that work on this fic would slow down after publishing the 3rd chapter. To explain that, I kinda lied. I really loved my story that I at least wanted to finish up the Rika Arc before School starts for me on Tuesday. When School does start, then the progress will slow down.**

 **Also, Justin D, I read your review, and I must say, you got quite the swell ideas. The only one that stood out to me the most was Issei having another gauntlet on his right arm behaving like Zangetsu in some sort of way. I might find a way to give Issei that in the future. How? I'm not sure yet, but we'll see, now won't we ;) Thank you very much for the feedback and suggestions by the by.**

 **Next chapter: I will get stronger! (Title of the chapter); Ddraig will test Issei to see if he's worthy of learning the Boosted Gear's other abilities.**

 **Until next time Folks!**


	6. Chapter 5: I will get stronger!

_**before we begin:**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

 **{Ddraig talking from Boosted Gear and in Issei's Dream world.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei**_ ** _telepathically.}_**

 **"A being that will be in this chapter."**

 ** _Right, onto the next chapter._**

Chapter 5: I will get stronger!

Issei could only look in bewilderment at what he's currently seeing. Appearing before him was the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig. How did he get here? He remembered him saying that he was sealed in his Boosted Gear. What made his appearance more surprising, is that the whole area around him has paused. The feathers from Rika's wings and the the shards of glass from the window Rika destroyed flying threw it were suspended in the air. They were not moving from their spots.

 **{Do you wish to become stronger?}**

Issei widened his eyes further at his sudden question.

 **{Do you want to fight? If you do, then what for? Will** **it be for the sake of revenge, or for the sake of your friends?}**

Issei thought about his question. He had to admit, he did want revenge on Rika for what she's done to Asia. He wanted to avenge her death no matter what stands in his way. But as he continued thinking, he started remembering how revenge can lead to dark road. He read plenty of manga to know how that works.

"I want to fight..." Issei whispered. "...For the sake of my friends..."

 **{I can't hear you! Speak up, partner!}**

"Fighting for revenge is pointless!" shouted Issei, making Ddraig have an interested look on his face. Issei's expression has now turned serious. "At first, I _did_ want to fight for revenge! I wanted to make Rika suffer for what she did to Asia! But then, I've learned that it won't solve anything. Revenge can make you a dark person if you keep pursuing it, and I don't want to go down that road! I still want to defeat Rika! But not for the sake of getting revenge! No, it's for the sake of protecting my friends! I can't allow her to go on a rampage with Twilight Healing constantly protecting her! I want to fight so I can stop her causing an end of the world scenario!"

Issei's expression turned from serious to surprised after he heard Ddraig laugh at his statement, but he didn't laugh in a bad way.

 **{You're the latest host I have who puts their friends first before themselves.}**

Issei raised an eyebrow at his statement. Before he could ask what he meant, the Welsh Dragon continued to speak.

 **{Very well, I shall help you earn that strength.}**

After saying these words, the area around them started to turn pitch black. Afterwards, they appeared in a familiar looking city on a building.

"This is... My Dream world," Issei said as he began to recognize the city. However, he questioned why he was seeing the sky in front of him when it's suppose to be above him. His question was answered when he looked down and noticed that he was standing on the window of the building. Issei had a bewildered expression as he approached the window he was standing on and hanged on to the edges for his life.

 **{Why are you lying down, partner?}**

Issei snapped his head towards the dragon with a baffled expression. "What are you talking about?! I almost fell to my death for a second there!"

Ddraig sighed at his answer.

 **{Do you not know the term _dream_ in Dream world?}**

A question mark popped out of Issei's head. "Eh?"

 **{Take a closer look at my hands and feet.}**

Issei did as he said so with his confused look still intact.

 **{Do you notice how my claws are not digging into the building to prevent me from falling?}**

Issei nodded to him, surprised that the Welsh Dragon is making no effort to prevent himself from falling.

 **{That's because this wall is the floor to me. You can walk on any surface in this Dream world and it will still behave like a floor. In dreams, anything is possible. And as for your quote on falling to your death, that is impossible in this world.}**

Issei had a surprised expression after Ddraig's explanation. It then morphed into a deadpan to himself after he put more thought into it. 'Didn't think that one through. My dream world does take place in my dreams.'

 **{Stand up and see for yourself, partner.}**

Issei hesitated at first, but he slowly started standing up on the wall. Like Ddraig told him, it did behave like a floor, which gave him an amused look. He then started walking around slowly. 'This is gonna take time to get use to.'

 **{Partner, take this.}**

Issei turned to Ddraig to notice that he's thrown an unsheathed katana sword to him. Issei widened his eyes and lightly juggled the sword, trying to grab onto it while trying not to get cut up by the blade. Eventually, he gripped the hilt with both hands. He then shot a look at Ddraig.

"Are you crazy?! Throwing an unsheathed sword at me like that?! I could've sliced off a finger or two, or my entire hand!"

 **{Keep it with you. It's your sword for the test.}**

"What?" Issei said with a raised eyebrow. "A test?"

 **{Tell me, have you ever heard your Sacred Gear announce something other than 'boost'?}**

After hearing that, Issei started remembering his battles with the stray exorcists and his third battle with Rika.

"Now that you've mentioned it, a couple of times, the Boosted Gear said 'explosion'. And at that fight I had with Rika a while ago, it said 'burst', making me feel fatigue afterwards. Why ask?"

 **{When the Boosted Gear says 'explosion', then the power you've built up in the gauntlet is released for a short period of time. When it says 'burst' however, then that means the wielder of this Sacred Gear has reached his/her physical limit, draining the user's increased power in the process.}**

"Okay," Issei said with a calculating look. "That's good to know. But what's this got to do with my 'test'?"

 **{Pay attention as I explain more about how I will get you stronger.}**

Issei nodded, wanting to know what he can so he can defeat Rika.

 **{I'm going to jump straight to the point, the Boosted Gear is capable of more than just boosting your power, and I'm going to teach you how to use these abilities.}**

"Really?" Issei was surprised at this information. "It can really do more than just boost myself and release that boosted power for a short period of time?"

 **{Indeed. But before I can teach you, we must do this test.}**

"Okay..." Issei replied with a confused expression. "But what is this test, though?"

 **{Summon the Boosted Gear and place your left hand towards me, and then I'll explain.}**

Issei nodded at his request and placed his left arm towards him while his hand was pointing upwards.

"Boosted Gear!"

 _ **{Boost!}**_

After summoning the Boosted Gear, he pointed his hand towards Ddraig. Ddraig then extended his big left hand towards the gauntlet and grabbed onto it with his index finger and thumb. He then pulled the gauntlet off of Issei's arm, making him widen his eyes in surprise while staring at it.

'It slipped off like a glove!'

 **{Issei Hyoudou,}**

Issei's attention was now on Ddraig.

 **{If you wish to learn what else this Sacred Gear I'm sealed in's capable of, then prove to me that you can hold your own without its help.}**

Ddraig then tossed the gauntlet to the side, letting it fly away from them.

Issei was left baffled at the Welsh Dragon's actions. "Ddraig! What are you-"

 **"Get out of my way!"**

Issei suddenly heard a voice coming from behind him. Before he could turn around, a mysterious figure that was holding a katana sword in his right hand zoomed by him, heading towards the Boosted Gear. The figure wore the same clothing Issei did, except his flannel was black with white accents, his shirt that was visible from the opened flannel was white, and his short pants were grey. As the figure approached the Sacred Gear, he caught it with his free hand and inserted it into his left arm, like an actual gauntlet.

Issei looked on bewildered at how the Boosted Gear was able to be inserted into the figure's arm. Before he could say anything about this, the figure turned around, revealing his face to him.

 **"Heheheheheheheh."**

Issei's eyes were now as wide as saucers after getting a look at the figure's face. He looked _just_ like him. Except that his hair and skin was white as snow, and he had black eyes with yellow irises and black pupils.

"Who... Who are you?!"

The doppelganger only smirked at his question.

 **"What kind of question is that? You should know exactly who I am, partner."**

Issei couldn't respond to his answer. he was still in bewilderment at how the figure looked just like him and why he was here."

 **{Now begins the test,}**

Issei's attention was now on Ddraig as he began talking.

 **{To see if you're worthy of learning the other abilities of the Boosted Gear. If you wish to learn them, you must hold your own without the Sacred Gear and defeat yourself while _he_ uses the Gear. For this test, your enemy is _you_.}**

 **"Heh! You think you can defeat me while I'm rocking the Boosted Gear and you're not? Good luck!"**

 _ **{Boost!}**_

The doppelganger got into a fighting stance with his sword.

 **"Just try to defeat me, partner. If you can!"**

The doppelganger jumped towards Issei to slash at him. Issei was able to block his attack, but the doppelganger was only getting started.

*CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLING!*

'Damn!' Issei exclaimed in his thoughts while blocking the doppelganger's slashes with his own sword. 'I can't counter him! This bastard's letting loose on me!'

 **"HA HAHAHAHA!"**

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Issei decided to dodge right and jump back from the doppelganger, unable to keep on blocking his attack. Then the doppelganger jumped high in the air with his sword above his head, aiming to slash him while landing towards him. Issei rolled left to dodge his next attack. When the doppelganger landed on the spot Issei used to be on, he created a crater from his attack, causing pieces of the building to fly apart. The doppelganger charged at Issei again with his sword. The two Isseis clashed swords once more. Issei was on the defensive, while the doppelganger was on offense. Again, Issei couldn't counter him.

Issei made a split second decision to jump away from him again. While doing so, he used his free hand to pick up a piece of a building that was a size to work as a shield. Seeing the doppelganger charge at him again, he readied his 'shield' to block his attack and get him with his own sword.'

 **"That's pretty clever of ya, partner."**

The doppelganger smirked as he threw his sword to his left hand, where the Boosted Gear was.

 **"But not clever enough!"**

 _ **{Transfer!}**_

Issei had a puzzled look when he heard the Boosted Gear made that announcement. Before he could question it any further, the piece of building he was using as a shield was sliced in two. Issei had a look of shock to see how it was a perfect slice. His attention was then drawn to the doppelganger's sword. It appeared to have a glowing green light surrounding it in the hand where the Boosted Gear was. The doppelganger then tried to slash at him with the sword again, but Issei dodged by jumping away from him, farther this time. With the distance he put between themselves, this gave him time to think about what just happened.

'He transferred the power from the Boosted Gear into his sword! That would explain how he was able to destroy my shield with a nice clean cut instead of it making a dent.' Issei then looked at his own sword with a calculating look. 'If I blocked the attack with my sword, it probably would've been cut in half, making me no longer have a weapon to defend myself with. If the Sacred Gear's power stays with the sword for a longer period of time, then this would might as well be like fighting him with a freaking stick!' Then he thought of something else that he thought would work too. 'If I can transfer power to any weapon I use, then maybe I could do the same to my friends if they need support. Or maybe I could transfer it to my attacks and demonic power if I ever work on that.' Issei then made an angry look at how clueless he was. 'I had no idea the Boosted Gear was capable of such an ability! Dammit!'

 **"What are you daydreaming for, partner?"**

Issei looked back to the doppelganger only to widen his eyes once more when he noticed that a red orb of light was in front of his palm.

 **"If you don't pay attention."**

He proceeded to ball his left hand into a fist.

 **"You're gonna die!"**

Issei's instincts were telling him to dodge. When they did, the doppelganger punched the orb, firing a giant laser beam from his fist. Issei nearly got hit by the attack, but he was able to avoid it, being thankful that he listened to his instincts.

 **"Damn, he dodged that."**

The doppelganger then conjured up another red orb from his left hand. Meanwhile, Issei was studying this with narrowed eyes.

'It can also fire a red beam?! From sensing its reiatsu, it had the signature of a dragon, so it had to be from the Boosted Gear.' He narrowed his further at the smirking doppelganger. 'And it looks like this attack can be used more than once too.'

 **"Heh! What's wrong now, partner?"**

Issei could only glare at him after he asked that question.

 **"I can't understand you. Here, you've got one of the most powerful Sacred Gears and you only power yourself up with it. You're pathetic!"**

"What?" Issei gained a confused look at his statement while his eyes were still narrowed.

The doppelganger's look then turned serious.

 **"Tell me, does one master their Sacred Gear just by only sticking with _one_ of its abilities?"**

Issei scowled at the doppelganger.

"What are you saying?"

 **"What I'm saying is that's what you're doing. You think you've mastered Boosted Gear just by simply boosting yourself up with it. You're so arrogant! You haven't even tried to talk to Ddraig via your left arm, telepathically, or in your dreams!"**

Issei raised an eyebrow at his statement. The doppelganger then smirked at him.

 **"And I think I know why. You probably assumed that boosting yourself was all the damn thing could ever do!"**

Ddraig was looking on at the battle between the two Isseis, paying attention to the real one's actions.

Issei widened his eyes at his next sentence. He then noticed the doppelganger beginning to punch the orb to launch another attack. He dodged it in just a second before he launched the attack; another close call.

'He's right,' Issei said in his thoughts with a guilty expression. 'I did jump to conclusions about what the Boosted Gear was capable of just by the name alone.'

The doppelganger conjured another red orb, attempting to shoot Issei again. After he punched the orb to launch the beam, Issei tried blocking the attack, but it failed, knocking him back five feet and breaking his sword in progress. Issei landed on his back, and he slowly got up from the attack and balanced himself on his feet.

 **"Heh! If you keep letting yourself get attacked by me, it won't lead you anywhere, now will it?"**

Issei only scowled at the doppelganger while tightening his fists. His hair was now covering his eyes.

 **"I might as well finish you off since you no longer have your weapon. You can forget about mastering Boosted Gear while I do so. You couldn't master this Sacred Gear even if you died trying!"**

After saying this, the doppelganger charged at Issei with his sword while laughing like a maniac. Issei just stood there with his scowl still intact and his hair still covering his eyes.

'Ddraig, if you can hear me talking in my head, then hear me when I say this. I now know that the Sacred Gear you reside in doesn't only boost my power. I now know the other capabilities of the Sacred Gear you reside in. I just need to know the names of these abilities and how to properly do them in order to perform them.'

 **"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

'Even if it's one step at a time, and even if it means having to get stronger in order to perform any other possible ability of the Sacred Gear, I wish...'

Issei reached out his left hand and extended it towards the doppelganger.

'To fight with your power once more!'

 **"You plan on catching my sword with your bare hand? How ignorant!"**

The doppelganger lowered his blade towards Issei when he reached him, intending to cut him down.

*CLINK!*

Issei's eyes widened as he heard the sound of clashing metal and looked up to see what made that sound. His eyes widened even further to see that he not only caught the blade, but that the Boosted Gear was now on Issei's left arm, and not the doppelganger's, who had his eyes wide at the sudden events too.

Issei turned his head left to see Ddraig looking at him with what appeared to be a confident look. 'You're... Giving me another chance?'

Now with the tables turned, Issei broke the doppelganger's sword with his Boosted Gear covered arm and delivered a hard punch to his face, making the doppelganger fly back four feet.

Issei turned to the Welsh Dragon again with a confident and grateful expression. 'Thank you, Ddraig.'

 ** _OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH_**

"Wait... You're not gonna kill us?"

Mittelt, Raynare, and Kalawarner had surprised expressions when they heard Rias, who was accompanied by Akeno say that she was gonna spare their lives.

Rias smiled to Mittelt, who was the one who asked her that question. "Of course not, while you two may be Fallen Angels, I'm not one to shed an innocent's blood."

Mittelt sighed a breath of relief, while Raynare and Kalawarner softened their eyes at Rias' kindness.

"But," Rias continued, getting the Fallen Angels' attention. "That won't change the fact that i'm still going to be wary of you three. Especially _you._ "

Rias now has her sights on Raynare, who held her hands together with a guilty expression. "If that's the case, then why are you sparing us then?"

Rias kept her stare on Raynare and let a small smile formed on her lips. "You have my Pawn to thank for me making that final decision."

Raynare widened her eyes at her answer and a tear drop escaped from her left eye. "Issei-kun..."

*CRASH!*

Everyone turned their heads where they heard the sound of glass breaking and were shocked to see who it was.

"Good evening, Rias Gremory."

It was Rika. She flew out of a window and landed on the ground in front of Rias, Akeno, and the Fallen Angels.

"I assume you've finally got what you've wanted?" Rias asked while glaring at Rika.

Rika then showed off her hands with a monstrous expression, which indeed revealed that she has Twilight Healing in her possession.

"Ya damn right I do! And now, I'm gonna destroy you, the other Devil, and those other three bitches! Good luck trying to stop me, because with this new obtained power, I'M INVINCIBLE!"

Everybody, except for Akeno who had an enraged expression widened their eyes in shock at Rika's statement.

"So Asia's dead?!" Kalawarner asked in utter shock.

"NOOOOO! She was such a gentle girl!" Mittelt said in sadness with tears flowing from her eyes.

Raynare on the other hand was in her own world after hearing the current situation, feeling guilty about everything that's happened.

'This is all my fault. Why didn't I just tell Issei-kun about this situation when I first met him alone? Why did I just try to follow Rika's orders when I knew full and well that she was causing harm?' Raynare's eyes started tearing up, and look then turned to anger, but that anger was towards herself. 'I'm such a coward! I was too afraid of dying if I tried defying her! I'm a terrible excuse to Azazel-sama! If Rika hadn't blocked all communications with him, I would've called him about her actions!'

"Where's Issei-kun, you bitch?"

Raynare was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard an infuriated voice coming from Akeno. In fact, everyone except for Rika all had looks of surprise when they heard her dangerous tone towards Rika.

Rias was the most surprised of them all. She had never seen her Queen this angry except for her personal reasons. But, Rias did have the same question Akeno did: What happened to Issei?

"HA HA HA HA! You mean that weakling low-class Devil?!" Rika's evil expression has turned even more sinister. "I took care of that little shit back in the church! He should be dead by now after bleeding from his knees and all of that light fused with my spears!"

The three Fallen Angels were baffled at this new information.

"No way! Him too?!" Mittelt asked in disbelief.

"Damn!" Kalawarner cursed as she looked down in anger.

Rias was infuriated. Her latest servant was aced by that Fallen Angel? Before she could respond to Rika, her eyes widened when she noticed that her Queen was conjuring a large amount of lightning from her hands, with her hair covering her eyes.

Rika snickered at Akeno's actions. "Try all you want to kill me. With the help of Twilight Healing, there's nothing you can do to-"

*BOOOOOOOM!* *CRASH!* *SHATTER!*

Everyone jumped and turned around towards the church when they heard a sudden explosion coming from that location. It even made Akeno stop what she was doing when she heard said explosion. The windows were destroyed by it and a familiar looking aura started flowing out of the windows at a rapid pace.

Rias and Akeno widened their eyes as they recognized this aura's color pattern. It was black and it had a white outlining. As the flow of the aura continued, a mysterious figure jumped out of one of the windows. The group couldn't tell who it was since a fog of the same aura was surrounding the figure, only leaving its legs visible. The figure was currently standing in front of Rika, who had a look of surprise at the sudden appearance of whoever owns this aura. Five seconds have passed when the black aura with white outlining surrounding the figure finally evaporated, with some still radiating from the figure. After that happened, everyone, including Rika had eyes as wide as saucers when they found out who it was.

Standing before them, was none other than Issei Hyoudou. His clothes were torn up possibly due to the explosion of aura that's currently leaking from his body, his knees' wounds were closed up and stopped bleeding, but the cuts were still visible, his Boosted Gear was on his left arm, and he was holding his blood-stained baseball bat over his shoulder. He currently has his sights on Rika, who was in bewilderment at his presence.

Rias and Akeno had looks of relief while holding their hands to their hearts.

Kalawarner and Mittelt were happy that he was still alive. Raynare was too, but she had tears rolling down her cheeks just seeing him while she held both her hands to her heart.

Issei and Rika were staring at each other eye-to-eye in silence. Issei had a look of determination while Rika was in utter disbelief. The silence carried on until Issei finally broke the silence.

"Sorry, but I don't feel like dying yet."

 _ **MEANWHILE IN ISSEI'S DREAM WORLD**_

Issei's doppelganger was staring at the sword the real one destroyed when Ddraig gave him the Boosted gear. He then looked towards the area where Issei once was.

 **"Well what do you know, he actually did it."**

He then set his sights towards Ddraig.

 **"So, was that how you wanted it to go?"**

 **{Yes, it will do. I appreciate you coming here for this.}**

 **"Don't mention it. After all, he is the king of this world, isn't he? It's our job to make sure he wins."**

The doppelganger then dropped his broken sword and gave Ddraig a sincere smile.

 **"And I'll do whatever I can to make sure he does."**

Ddraig only looked at him with an unreadable expression.

The doppelganger crossed his arms.

 **"Anyway, with that out of the way, can I go back now?"**

 **{As you wish.}**

The doppelganger was now surrounded by a black aura that had a white outlining. He then started dispersing into said aura slowly, starting at his feet and eventually upwards at his head.

 **"He's a strong host you got, Ddraig."**

As his whole body turned into the black aura with white outlining, leaving only part of his face left, he smirked devilishly and narrowed his eyes towards the dragon.

 **"Look after him. All of that power, along with his body's gonna be mine, eventually."**

The doppelganger has now dispersed into the aura, it flew away from Ddraig and it evaporated from his sight. After a few seconds, he looked up in the cloudy sky.

 **{Issei Hyoudou, while you now have the knowledge of the other abilities of the Sacred Gear I'm sealed in before you woke up, it won't be enough for you. After you defeat that Fallen Angel, there will be more stronger opponents after her. And after you defeat that strong opponent, another one much more stronger will appear. It is imperative that you get stronger, my host. And as long as I am your host, and as you get more stronger, I shall lend you the power you need to be victorious of your battles and achieve survival.}**

 _ **OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH**_

"No, it can't be!" Rika was still in denial at Issei's presence. "You can't be alive! There's no way you could survive all of that light in both of your knees! You were bleeding out from them as well! There's no way a low-class Devil like you can survive that light! You are NOTHING!"

Away from the two, the girls were scowling at Rika for scolding Issei and calling him 'nothing'.

Issei smirked at her while his eyes remained serious. "That's what I should be calling _you_ , Rika."

Rika scowled at his response. "What are you saying, brat?"

"What I'm saying is that you're a sad, pathetic Fallen Angel."

Rika's scowl grew as she heard him say that.

Issei continued from there. "You're right about one thing though, I can still feel your light coursing through my knees. It's quite painful actually, but I don't care about that now."

 _ **{Boost!}**_

After Issei boosted himself up with his Boosted Gear, he pointed his bat at her while the black aura with white outlining continued flowing from his body. "What I care about right now is killing you here and now so you won't cause anymore trouble, and take back Asia's Sacred Gear! If you're not willing to give it back, then I'll have to take it back by force."

Rika conjured up a light spear in her right arm and charged at him with it. "I LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY YOU DAMN DEVIL!"

Issei dodged her attack before she could stab him with the spear. Rika growled at this and went to stab him again. Issei dodged her second attack by jumping high in the air and delivered a kick to her face, sending her two feet away from him.

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Rika landed on her back after she got hit. She got up from the attack and glared at Issei who was still giving her a neutral expression. This angered Rika even more as she took flight in the air and charged at him again, trying to stab him in the heart. Issei only sidestepped from the spear and swung his bat into her face, slamming her down on the ground. As she crashed to the ground, a crater has formed around her body from how strong Issei's attack was.

 _ **{Boost!}**_

Issei jumped away from Rika just in case she tried anything to take advantage of her downed state. While he did have the upper hand for that moment, he was now facing a problem. After attacking her with the bat, it got destroyed as it snapped in two, making him deadpan with wide eyes and sweat drop as he just noticed this and how clean the break was.

'Damn thing was made out of aluminum?! I'm surprised it lasted this long during my previous fights!'

Issei snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed Rika slowly getting up from her crater. She made it to her wobbly feet and continued to scowl at him.

"Why you little!"

Rika was more angry than ever before. Her eyes were fueled with so much fury. She wanted to kill him so badly and she wasn't going anywhere with doing so.

Meanwhile, Issei noticed her scowl and chuckled at her. "Look who's blinded by rage now."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Rika conjured up two spears on each hand and charged at him with them.

Issei was dodging slash after slash. He tried to land a punch or a kick on her, but was unable to because he knows if he does, she'll either block the attack with her spears to inflict light damage on his knuckles, or let go of one of the spears, grab him by the wrists and impale him with the spear in her hand.

'*Sigh.* The only downfall to hand-to-hand combat against one with weapons.'

 _ **{Boost!}**_

The other girls were watching the fight in worry. Now that Issei doesn't have a weapon to counter her spears, how will he carry on the fight.

Issei jumped away from Rika to get some distance and try to think of a plan to defeat her.

 _ **{Issei Hyoudou, can you hear me?}**_

Issei widened his eyes when he heard a familiar voice in his head.

'Ddraig?'

 _ **{Yes, it is I, the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig. I'm currently talking to you telepathically so only you can hear me. You can also communicate with me in your thoughts this way.}**_

Issei started to remember something after the Welsh Dragon's explanation.

'That's right, my doppelganger did mention that I could speak to you this way. So... What's up?'

 _ **{Tell me, do you see a black aura that has a white outlining surrounding you?}**_

Issei took a moment to look around his body. While doing so, he widened his eyes to see the aura Ddraig was talking about dance around his body.

'Y-Y-Yeah... What is that?'

 _ **{That's your other power flowing through you. It's responsible for stopping the bleeding in your knees.}**_

Issei made a surprised expression when he learned that this aura was his power.

'Whoa. Is there a way I can control it?'

 _ **{Unfortunately, no. For now, it can only help out with the bleeding. Anyway, what do you plan on doing to defeat this Fallen Angel?}**_

'Well, I was planning on launching a Dragon Shot at her to finish her off, but there's an obvious chance she'll dodge it.'

 _ **{Well, if you do plan on doing that attack, I just want you to know that you only have the strength to launch one Dragon Shot due to the current condition of your knees. So make that shot count.}**_

Issei narrowed his eyes towards the ground after hearing his current limit.

"What are you standing around for, boy?!"

Issei looked up as he heard the voice of Rika calling to him. She was still keeping her grip on her two spears while glaring at him.

"I'll be honest, I actually don't mind. It'll give me the opportunity to KILL YOU!"

Rika readied her spears, planning to throw them at his direction. When Issei saw what she was gonna do, he had an idea on how to deliver the final blow as he nodded to himself.

 _ **{Do you know what you're doing, partner?}**_

'Trust me Ddraig, I know what I'm gonna do next.'

Issei then started running towards Rika with a determined look.

"That charging to battle bullshit's not gonna work on me, low-class Devil!"

Rika threw her spears at Issei, in hopes to finally be rid of the boy.

However, Issei knew she would throw them. He dodged the first spear that was ahead of the other one to the right, and when the second spear was approaching him, he back handed it with his left hand that had the Boosted Gear embedded and continued charging towards her.

Unknown to him while he was running, more black aura with white outlining started fuming out from his body.

In panic, Rika attempted to fly away from the boy in order to escape. Sadly for her, her leg got grabbed on in a firm grip by Issei, who had a red orb conjured from his Boosted Gear covered arm aiming right at her.

"I don't think so!"

 _ **{Explosion!}**_

"No! This can't be happening!" retorted Rika. "I am a supreme Fallen Angel! I've waited so long to obtain this power! You can't take it from me! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

 _ **{This is it, Partner! finish her off with that Dragon Shot while you still can! You only have one chance, so make it count!}**_

'Way ahead of you, Ddraig!'

Issei was too busy to notice the aura fuming from him increase its mass into a big ball nearly bigger than himself. Rias and Akeno widened their eyes in recognition when they noticed the black and white aura take a form of a familiar skull behind him. The aura's power was so intense, The girls watching the fight were shaking from such power.

Rika on the other hand was in fear of the skull. She felt like she was meeting death himself.

"NO! I WON'T FALL LIKE THIS!"

Rika conjured up a spear and aimed it for Issei's head. Due to how much the black skull with white outlining, stripes, and eyes scared her, her aiming was wobbly.

Issei balled his left hand into a fist, ready to punch the red orb he created.

"This is for Asia, and Amano-san!"

Raynare blushed when she heard him mention her by her fake last name. She held her hands to her chest tightly with more tears threatening to leave her eyes.

Issei punched the orb at the same time Rika threw her spear. The red orb then became a beam and engulfed Rika in its blast, while the spear was inches near Issei's skull. A flash of bright light then blinded the scene between Issei and Rika. While the flash was still blocking the view, Rias, Akeno, and the three Fallen Angels ask in their thoughts:

Did Issei defeat her? And will he live?

It took approximately nine seconds for the scenery in front of the girls to finally be clear. It revealed Issei lying on the ground on his back with Boosted Gear still intact, making the girls question in worry if he's dead or out cold. They were later relieved when they saw him slowly open his eyes and slowly lift his body off from the ground. Issei placed his right hand on his forehead in pain and widened his eyes a little when he noticed that it was bleeding. It wasn't anything major, it was quite a small wound with a trickle of blood flowing downwards. Issei's attention went away from his minor injury as he noticed some black feathers falling down on the ground from the spot Rika use to be at. More of those feathers fell towards the same direction the previous feathers were until he found something glowing green in the sky.

It was Asia's Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing. As soon as he came into eye contact with it, he activated his wings and flew up to them and caught them with his hand. Afterwards, he looked at the rings with his eyes softened.

"I did it Asia," he says. "I defeated her and reclaimed what's rightfully yours."

Issei then made a look of realization as he noticed that he was now flying, deadpanning in the process.

'Wait, this was my second time sprouting my Devil wings, and yet I'm getting the hang of flying?'

Issei decided to forget about this and flew down towards the entrance of the church and ran inside.

Rias looked towards the entrance, knowing what Issei was going to do with Twilight Healing. Rias looked to Akeno, who nodded to her, knowing what she plans to do and follows her to the church to catch up with Issei.

Before the two Devils entered the church, Rias felt something touch her foot as if she slightly kicked something. She looked down and widened her eyes in surprise to see a familiar looking skull shaped mask on the ground. Upon further inspection, she became intrigued when she found out that this was the same mask Issei wore After that incident with Freed, with its reptilian teeth and the black stripes on its top left side. However, the mask was cracked and the left eye part was destroyed with the top left part of the mask where the stripes reside and the lower left of it still intact.

Since she also noticed Issei's blood trickle on his forehead after his fight with Rika, she came to the conclusion that this mask was responsible for saving him from the spear.

"What should we do about it, Rias?"

Rias turned to her Queen, who also noticed the mask in her master's hand.

"We'll worry about it later, right now, we need to get to Ise."

"Of course."

With that said, Rias stored the mask in her shirt pocket and the two Devils proceeded into the church. Before they could, Rias turned to Raynare with a serious look, which made the latter nervous.

"If you want to take this chance to apologize to my Pawn, now's your chance before it's too late."

Raynare widened her eyes at her statement and started running towards the entrance as the Devils were already inside.

"Hey! Wait up!" Mittelt exclaimed to her fellow Fallen Angel while running after her, with Kalawarner following her.

 _ **INSIDE THE CHURCH**_

The girls entered the church in search for Issei's whereabouts. They eventually found him on one knee with his eyes closed in front of a pew with his right arm resting on his knee. The girls' expressions softened when they discovered that he was paying his respects to the now deceased Asia. Upon further inspection, the girls found her Sacred Gear placed back on the her fingers, making the scene more beautiful to their eyes.

While they were watching the scene, Rias noticed Kiba and Koneko coming back from the basement. The two noticed Issei paying his respects to the nun and they approached the brown-haired boy. When they made it to him, Kiba placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Issei felt his hand and turned his head to the source, seeing Kiba smiling at him.

"Well, Well, ain't someone an honorable warrior," Kiba commented.

"That's pretty sweet of you," Koneko agreed with a tiny smile.

"Kiba! Koneko-chan!" Issei said in surprise. "You guys survived!"

"Yup," replied Kiba. "It wasn't easy since Rika tried to take us down too, but we made it."

Issei smiled at his statement. He then looked down on the ground with a guilty frown.

"I'm so sorry. You all came to help me. I fought as hard as I could... And yet..." Tears started rolling down his cheeks. "I've failed Asia. I've failed that blue haired Fallen Angel who warned me this would happen. I've failed all of you."

Kalawarner's eyes have softened and blushed an unnoticeable shade of red when he mentioned her.

"You have nothing to be guilty for, Ise," Rias said while approaching him. "This world is still new to you. Nobody is to blame."

"B-B...But still...," Issei tried speaking, but was choked back from his tears.

Rias' eyes softened towards the boy. She then reached inside her skirt pocket.

"This might not make any sense to you," she explains to him. "But I'd like to show you something."

Issei turned his head around to his president's direction to see her holding a white chess piece in her hand.

"Do you know what this is?" Rias asked Issei.

Issei took some time to look at the object before answering. "It's a bishop piece. What about it?"

Rias started to smile after hearing his question.

"I forgot to mention this to you during the fight with a stray Devil last night, so I'm going to take this moment to explain. The Bishop's position of power is to protect and heal the other Devils in the household."

At that moment, Issei, as well as the Three Fallen Angels widened their eyes at the Gremory Devil's explanation.

"Wait," Issei said, with more tears escaping his eyes. "Are you doing what I think you're going to do?"

Rias winked to her Pawn. "Once again, you caught on quick." She then set her sights to Asia. "Can you place her on the floor so I can start the procedure?"

Issei wiped away his tears and sent his master a smile. "Yes, of course."

Issei picked up Asia's body and gently placed it on the floor. After that, Rias placed the Bishop piece in the middle of the nun's chest so she can start the reincarnation procedure. Issei moved in his friends' position so he can witness how the reincarnation process works.

"In the name of Rias Gremory," Rias began. "I call to Asia Argento. Hear my command. Return thy soul from the shadows of Death to the Human Realm! Rise once more as my Devil servant! Rejoice, for you have been given new life!"

During the reincarnation process, the Bishop piece turned red and began to slowly enter Asia's chest. The piece successfully entered Asia's chest and her body glowed a light red. Her body then went back to normal afterwards.

"So, did it work? Is she gonna live again?" Mittelt was the first to speak after the procedure. She was about to run to Asia to see if she's alive.

"Hold up, miss," Mittelt stopped in her tracks after hearing Issei talk to her and turned to him.

"Let's wait for a while," Issei continued. "As much as I want to jump ahead, I think this is one of those scenarios where we have to wait."

Mittelt made a confused face at his statement. But she then noticed that the Sacred Gear on Asia's fingers glowed green. After the light went away, everyone noticed that Asia's eyes were slowly opening. Her eyes did open and she slowly got up into a sitting position.

"Huh?" Asia was confused about her current location. "Where am I? Is this Heaven."

"Asia!"

Asia turned her head right to see that it was Issei who called to her. He was smiling because of her presence.

"I'm so glad you're ali-"

"ASIA!"

Issei was interrupted when Mittelt suddenly brought Asia into a hug.

"M-Mittelt-chan!" Asia was a little surprised at Mittelt's sudden actions.

"Oh thank goodness you're alive!" The blonde Fallen Angel was in tears while hugging and speaking to her.

"Hey, we're still friends, right? And we're gonna stay friends forever?"

"Y-Y-Yeah, of course we are," replied Asia.

Mittelt continued crying while she kept Asia in her embrace. Kalawarner sweat-dropped at the scene, but was glad to see that Asia was still alive.

Issei just smiled at the scene while scratching the back of his head.

"It's good to have you back, Asi-AAAHHH!"

"Issei-kun!"

Issei jumped when he was embraced from behind by a certain black-haired Fallen Angel. Issei turned his head to see who was hugging him and was surprised to see someone he almost recognizes.

"Amano-san? Is that you?"

Unbeknownst to Issei, Akeno was glaring at the Fallen Angel, ready to strike in case she tried anything with him.

Raynare nodded to Issei, answering his question.

"I'm so sorry Issei-kun! I'm to blame for all of this! I should've told you earlier what was going on but I was afraid of dying if I did! I'm really sorry. If you hate me for this, it's understandable."

Issei widened his eyes at her apology, but he remembers Asia's story and What Rika has told him back at the park.

"Amano-san, I don't hate you."

Raynare, along with everyone else widened their eyes at his sentence.

"What?" Raynare was confused.

"While it is true that you're a Fallen Angel, and that it's true that you were with Rika, I know that you too have heart as well."

Raynare widened her eyes further at Issei's statement.

"I mean," Issei continued while smiling. "You did help Asia when she was down in the dumps because of Rika, and another Fallen Angel with blue hair has told me about what Rika was up to. So who am I to judge you, as well as anyone else just by your race."

Raynare's eyes softened and started developing tears.

"I don't care about that anymore. After my first encounter with that monster of an exorcist, I've already decided to only judge people by if they're good or if they're bad." Issei then gave Raynare a toothy grin. "I am Devil unlike any other after all. That's kinda what I'm aiming for."

No longer able to hold back, Raynare tightened her hold on Issei and started sobbing. Issei blushed because he could feel her breasts pressed against his back. He later smiled and pat her on her head to comfort her.

Rias looked at the two with a smile, impressed with how kind her Pawn was. Akeno just looked on at the scene with an unreadable look. Kiba watched with a smile and Koneko just looked with her usual blank stare.

Kalawarner and Mittelt had deadpan looks towards their friend.

'She totally has the hots for him.'

'Most definitely.'

The embrace between Issei and Raynare went on until Asia started to approach him.

"Issei, you're bleeding!"

Issei looked at her with a puzzled expression, then widened his eyes in remembrance of his wound on his forehead.

"Oh, I forgot about that." Issei chuckled while scratching the back of his head blushing in embarrassment.

Without hesitation, Asia placed her hands in front of his forehead to heal the wounds. Issei noticed her actions and smiled to her.

"Thanks for that Asia. I appreciate it."

"Of course," replied Asia.

"Hey, Raynare!"

Issei, Asia, and Raynare turned their heads to the direction where they heard Kalawarner call to her fellow Fallen Angel.

"If you're done reuniting with your crush, can we please get moving?"

Raynare blushed several shades of red. She then glared at her comrade.

"Y-Y-You shut up!"

Issei blushed at Kalawarner's words too.

'She still has a thing for me?'

Issei then snapped out of his thoughts when he remembered something and looked to Kalawarner.

"Excuse me, umm... I never got your name."

Kalawarner noticed him call to her and set her sights on him.

"Oh, my name is Kalawarner. It's a pleasure to meet you, Issei-Kun."

"And I'm Mittelt!"

Issei turned towards the blonde Fallen Angel when he heard her suddenly announce her name.

"And I'm the most badass Fallen Angel you'll ever meet!"

After finishing her sentence, Mittelt spun around three times and sprouted out her wings. She then gave Issei a sexy wink while posing, making him blush a light shade of red, while Kalawarner only sweat-dropped.

He then felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Raynare with red cheeks while holding her hands together.

"Umm, my real name's Raynare, and I hope we can see each other again."

"Eh?" Issei said with a confused expression. "Where are you heading?"

"We're heading back to Azazel-sama and report everything that's happened here," Kalawarner answered.

"I see," replied Issei. He then sent her a grateful smile. "By the way, thank you very much for telling me about Asia. If you hadn't who knows what kind of trouble we'd all be in."

Kalawarner widened her eyes and blushed at his smiling face.

"Y-Yes, of course. I'm glad to be of help."

Raynare and Mittelt went to Kalawarner so they can teleport back to Azazel. Before they did teleport, Raynare kissed her hand and blew it to Issei, which made him blush. He proceeded to chuckle while scratching the back of his head.

"Ara ara, that was unexpected of you."

Issei turned around to face Akeno as he heard her suddenly talk to him.

"What do you mean, Akeno-senpai?" Issei asked in curiosity. He was more surprised of Akeno's current expression. Her eyes were narrowed downwards and her face looked sorrow.

"You've killed a Fallen Angel for what she's done to Asia and you've forgiven that other one who held onto you a while ago." Akeno sounded like she'd been through hell, and by the look on Rias' face, she understood what she was talking about, but Issei didn't.

"To be honest, after what you've been through," Akeno continued. "I thought you'd despise _all_ Fallen Angels."

Issei's eyes widened when he heard her say this, but he shook his head at her and smiled.

"Have you been listening, senpai? I don't care what faction they're from. Therefore, I don't despise Fallen Angels."

Akeno's eyes widened after hearing him say this.

"If I'm going to despise anyone, it's going to be people who wish to cause harm to anyone I hold dear: my friends, my family, and other innocent people. To hell with the fact that they're Angels, Fallen Angels, hell, even if they're a Devil, what matters to me the most is if they're good people, or bad people. Okay?" Issei then gave Akeno a thumbs up with a toothy grin while having his eyes closed. "If you ask me, I'm going to be a Devil unlike any other."

Issei didn't notice, but Akeno was looking at him with wide eyes after his statement. She then started to approach the boy. When Issei opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Akeno standing right in front of him with softened eyes and a cute smile.

"Umm... Akeno-senpai, is everything alright?" Issei asked blushing.

Suddenly, he was trapped in Akeno's arms for a tight hug, making Issei and Asia jump at her sudden action, while Rias had a look of surprise on her face.

Akeno was giggling happily while she was rubbing her cheek against his own. Issei on the other hand now has a face in a shade of a tomato because of their cheeks rubbing together, and her breasts were pressed against his chest.

"Fufufufufu~! What a sweetie pie~!"

"A-A-Akeno-senpai!" Issei exclaimed with his blush still intact. "Why are you hugging me all of the sudden?!"

Akeno looked at him with eyes that he claims in his mind to be adorable.

"Because you have such a kind soul for a Devil," Akeno explained. "That explains why that other Queen's after you. Fufufu~."

Issei held a confused expression on his face. 'Another Queen?'

"Ise," Issei turned his head left when he heard Rias call to him.

"Oh, um, yes ma'am?"

Rias kept her smile on while speaking to him. "From here on, you're Asia-chan's protector. You are the senior Devil after all."

Issei smiled to her with a determined look. "Of course, Buchou! You can count on me!"

Issei's cheeks then turned the shade of red that almost matched Rias' hair color as Akeno's embrace tightened on him while she was petting his head.

"Umm, Issei?"

Issei's attention was now on Asia.

"Yeah, Asia."

"Umm...," Asia's cheeks were light red and she was holding her hands together. "Am I really back in this world?"

With his free hand since he was still trapped in Akeno's hug, he used it to gently pet Asia on her head, making her blush turn a darker red.

"Yes, you are," Issei answered with a smile. "And I'm so happy you're back." Issei then gave her an encouraging wink. "Let's go home."

Everyone smiled in agreement with him.

 _ **LATER THAT NIGHT; OCCULT RESEARCH CLUB ROOM**_

Issei made his way to the occult research club to meet up with Rias and crew. He knocked on the door before he proceeded to enter the room.

"Evening, folks."

After he entered, he was surprised to see only Rias in the room. She was sitting on a sofa drinking tea. When she finished her sip, she noticed Issei walking in and smiled to him.

"Hi there. I'm surprised you're here tonight," Rias greeted. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I feel great, thanks to Asia's healing ability," replied Issei. "It's like I never suffered any injuries at all."

"That's good," said Rias. "She's already proving how helpful she can be. It's no wonder the enemy were so threatened by her."

Issei rolled his eyes. "More like greedy for her power, if you ask me."

Rias giggled at Issei's comment as he took a seat on the opposite sofa in front of her and crossed his legs and folded his arms behind his head.

"So, Buchou, there's something I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind."

Rias looked at Issei and smiled. "What is it, Ise?"

"Since there are eight Pawn pieces, then I'm guessing you're gonna try and recruit seven more to be those pieces, are you?"

Rias looked at him with a surprised look. Issei noticed this and put his hands up in defense.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," he assured her. "I'll try my best to get along with them once you recruit them. Heh heh heh."

Rias placed her tea cup on her saucer and stood up from the sofa. She then looked at him with a smile.

"You're the only Pawn I'll ever need, Ise."

Issei raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Huh? What do you mean by that? You are gonna need more of them eventually, right?"

Rias walked to Issei as she began to explain what she meant.

"When a human becomes a Devil, the number of Evil Pieces they consume varies. It just depends on what special abilities that person has to contribute."

Rias was now behind the sofa Issei was sitting in, who had a confused expression after her explanation.

"Consumed?" he asked Rias. "I don't quite understand-"

Before he could continue to speak, his head got hugged from behind by Rias, making him blush a light shade of red with a surprised look.

"For you," Rias continued. "The pieces I had remaining were one Knight, one Rook, one Bishop, and eight Pawns. Those were the pieces I had to choose from."

"Oh," Issei was starting to get it. "So it's kinda like building a Chess set."

"Precisely," replied Rias. "After I knew I wanted to bring you back as my servant, I decided to use all eight of my Pawns in order to save you."

"Wait," Issei said with a surprised expression. "You used up all of those pieces for me?"

"It was a gamble," Rias said. "I had a feeling your power alone was strong enough to require them all." Rias then moved her head closer to Issei's, making him blush a darker shade of red. "Humans with that potential are hard to find, so I consider the sacrifice to be well worth the risk. And now that we know you possess the Longinus, Boosted Gear, I'd say it really was worth it. _You_ are worth it."

Hearing that made him feel good inside as he smiled to himself and looked at his left arm.

"Yeah," he responded to Rias. "It's also the Sacred Gear that the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig resides in."

Issei then felt his chin get cupped by Rias' hand as she turned his head to face him in eye-to-eye contact. This made Issei's blush almost like the color of her hair again, but not quite as close as that color. Rias looked cute to him the way she was looking at him.

"The crimson-haired princess of ruin and the user of the Red Dragon," Rias commented. "I don't know if we could be more perfectly matched."

"Uhh..." Issei became more flustered from that sentence. "I'm not quite sure how to respond to that."

Rias' smile grew bigger. "Strive to become the ultimate Pawn. I have complete faith in your ability to achieve this goal. Consider this an order, my cute servant."

Issei nodded to her with a confident look. "Of course. To be honest with you, that's what I've been planning to begin with."

Issei had his eyes closed while he was scratching the back of his head. Because of that, he failed to notice Rias placing her hands on his cheeks until he felt them touch. Issei shot his eyes open to see Rias moving her head towards his own.

"Umm, Buchou, what are you..."

Before he could finish his question, the familiar dark red color on his cheeks returned as he felt her lips touching his forehead. She kept her lips on their for five seconds. After Rias removed her lips from his forehead, he suddenly felt something coarse through his body, as if it were some kinda power up. He then saw Rias wink to him while raising a finger up.

"Just a little spell strengthen your stamina."

"Oh... Okay," replied the blushing Issei who was fiddling his thumbs together. "I won't question the logic of your magic powers. Heh heh heh."

"You'll need your strength to better fulfill my orders," said Rias. she then faced the opposite direction from where he's sitting at. "And I'm gonna have to stop coddling you, or our newest member will become jealous."

Issei raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Eh?"

"Umm... What's going on here?"

Issei widened his eyes in recognition of that voice he just heard and quickly turned around to the source of it. His eyes widened further as he sees a familiar blonde girl who was currently pouting in his direction with watery eyes.

"Oh, Asia!" Issei said with his hands up in defense. "It's not what it looks like! We were just talking!"

"Oh, it's okay," replied Asia who was blushing while pointing her two fingers together. "I know she's prettier than me. And she'll probably do things I won't, so it makes sense that you'll like her more." Asia widened her eyes, realizing what she's saying. She then began shaking her head violently with her eyes shut tight. "I shouldn't say things like that! I swear I'm not jealous, I'm just insecure!" she then clasped her hands together in a prayer. "Dear Lord, please forgive my sins of lust and-"

*ZAP!*

"GAAAHH!"

Asia held onto her head after she cried in pain.

Issei ran to her to see if she's alright. "Hey, Asia, you okay?"

"It felt like something zapped my head!" replied Asia.

"God's not very receptive to prayers from Devils," explained Rias. This explanation made Issei deadpan.

'I'm surprised _I've_ never uttered a "prayer" back in my previous days as a Devil. And if I did, they were all in vain.'

Asia recovered from her minor headache and looked down at the ground looking depressed.

"He's probably angry that I've became a Devil, huh?"

"Well, how do you feel about it?" Rias asked her with a sincere smile.

Asia looked at Rias with a returning smile. "I don't have any regrets being a Devil." She then clasped her hands together with her eyes closed. "The best part about it is that Issei and I can be together forever now, and that's all I ever really wanted."

Issei looked at her with softened eyes and a smile. "Well, if you're happy, then I'm happy as well, Asia." He then noticed her current attire and was confused about it. "So, what's up with the outfit you got on? It looks like Kuoh Academy's female uniform."

"Oh, Buchou transferred me to your school and I got the uniform afterwards." Asia then spun around wearing a cute smile on her face. "So, what do you think? Does it look nice on me?"

Issei scratched the back of his head with his eyes closed. "Yeah, the uniform really suits you."

Asia's smile grew bigger after hearing his comment. Issei then turned to Rias to ask her a question.

"You were able to get her transferred here?"

"Indeed," replied Rias with a smile. "My father's on the school board, so getting her enrolled as a transfer student wasn't a problem."

"I see."

Issei, Rias, and Asia turned their heads to the club room door as they heard it open. Entering the room were Kiba and Koneko.

"Hello everyone," Kiba greeted to the group.

"Well, well, if it ain't the hero himself," Koneko said with her usual emotionless expression. Issei sweat dropped at her comment with a chuckle. Before he could say a word to either Kiba and Koneko, The two white double-doors opened to reveal Akeno pushing a trolley of plates, tea cups, and a cake.

"Oh, perfect, you're all here," Akeno said cheerfully. "I brought cake so we can officially welcome our new member."

Issei and the gang took a look at the cake. It was a vanilla cake with whip cream and strawberries on top. Issei noticed Koneko drooling at the cake from the corner of his eye and chuckled at the scene.

'She must really like sweet stuff.'

"Ise."

Issei turned to Rias after hearing her call to him.

"Yes, buchou?"

"Great job tonight, I was very impressed."

Issei's cheeks turned pink as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, thank you," replied Issei. "I'm glad to have pleased you." he then turned to everyone else and said, "Alright folks," catching everyone's attention. He then put on the best smile he could ever make as he spoke his next sentence. "Since Asia here's our newest member, I think it's only fair that she get's the first piece."

Asia blushed at his statement and then smiled to him.

"Oh Issei, you're so sweet," She said to him.

"Ara ara, ain't someone quite the gentleman~. Fufufu~." Issei blushed a little at Akeno's comment.

"I agree, Issei," Kiba said to him with his usual smile.

"Word," Koneko commented.

Meanwhile, outside of the club room's window, while the Gremory gang were eating cake, they failed to notice a bird with red and yellow feathers and blue eyes watching them like a hawk.

"Well then," A man's voice said out of nowhere. "Wasn't that a sweet ending? Gag me."

As it turns out, it was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes using the bird to spy on the group, mostly on Rias. His attire consisted of a burgundy blazer with matching pants and black dress shoes. surrounding him were 15 beautiful girls with a couple of them cuddled up against him.

 _ **Fallen Angel Rika Arc: The End...**_

 **OVA Epilogue Time!**

Issei was currently asleep in his room after a long day, and night of handing out flyers. After falling asleep, He made it to his Dream world: A dark blue city with cobalt buildings and a beautiful peaceful sky with clouds. Issei was currently lying down on top of one of the buildings looking at the clouds with a smile on his face. While he was doing so, he was also reflecting upon his previous battle with Rika and how that night escalated.

'I must say, that was one hell of a ride.'

 **{You telling me, Partner?}**

Issei widened his eyes a little and turned his head to the direction of where the voice came from. He then saw the Dragon sealed in his Boosted Gear, Ddraig, next to him looking down at his host.

"Oh, hey Ddraig. What's up?"

 **{Well, other than flying around this Dream world of yours admiring the city and some certain shaped clouds, I'm pretty damn bored.}**

Issei chuckled at his statement.

"Well, in my opinion, you should be lucky your sealed in my Sacred Gear. I've been working my ass off delivering flyer after flyer to client after client, and if you saw through my eyes during my work, you'd understand."

 **{Ha ha ha! Life as a Devil must be really tough on you.}**

A tick mark appeared on Issei's head as he shot Ddraig a look.

"Don't exploit my pain."

Issei and Ddraig continued looking at the clouds in the sky, and at times at the city itself to admire the unique architecture. After a minute has passed, Ddraig decided to break the silence.

 **{Hey, Issei. You are aware that there will be more opponents stronger than your previous ones, yes?}**

Issei turned to Ddraig with a serious expression and nodded to him.

"I've been aware of that for quite a while now." Issei then turned back towards the sky. "And I made a promise to Rias and myself that I'd become the Ultimate Pawn so I can protect everyone I hold dear to me. I'm also going to be a Devil unlike any other. I'll only trust those who are good and who are bad, regardless of what faction they're from."

 **{Once again, you're the latest host I've got who puts his loved ones first.}**

Hearing that made Issei raise an eyebrow at him.

"You're that surprised by that?"

 **{Indeed, I am. While some of my previous hosts used the Sacred Gear for good like you are currently doing, I also had some hosts who only used it for power and greed, and it didn't end well for them.}**

"Damn." Issei was surprised at this new information. "I assume this works for other Sacred Gears too huh? They find another host after their previous one dies?"

 **{Yup.}**

Issei turned his head back to the sky to look at some more clouds. While he was doing so, he chuckled under his breath, earning a raised eyebrow, if you'd call that the look he's currently got, from Ddraig.

 **{What's so funny about that?}**

"Oh no, it's not about the Sacred Gears," Issei assured him. "I just remembered the time I took a picture of a cloud that took a shape of a dragon.

 **{Really?}**

This caught Ddraig's interest.

 **{Did it look just like me?}**

Issei took a moment to look at Ddraig so he can give him an answer.

"Hmm... Not quite, but it did look pretty badass, so I had to take the photo while I had the chance."

 **{I see.}**

Issei went back to looking at the clouds while Ddraig was still looking at his host.

 **{I assume that's all you're gonna do until you wake up?}**

"Yup," Issei replied nonchalantly.

 **{You know, since this is your Dream world, you could form the clouds into however you like without having to wait for one that takes a shape of something.}**

Issei sent Ddraig a toothy grin after hearing his suggestion.

"Where's the fun in that Ddraig? Heh heh heh."

With an unreadable expression, Ddraig nodded to his host.

 **{Very well. I'm going back to sleep. Until we speak to each other again, partner.}**

Issei nodded to him in response and Ddraig took off to the other side of the building, leaving Issei to continue staring at the clouds. While he was looking at them, he remembered what the Welsh Dragon said about some of the previous hosts giving in to greed, making him put a serious face on.

'I'm not going to end up like those bastards. I'm going to use my Sacred Gear to protect those I care about. And no matter how big the challenge, I _will_ get stronger!'

 **OVA Epilogue End.**

 **Author's Note: Phew! Finally, I finished this Arc for the FanFic. I apologize for the wait, School was getting to me, so I wasn't able to work on it as much as I expected to, being it's the only first few weeks of school. I've also gotten addicted to playing Destiny on my PS4, which really messed up my free time on writing this fic. But I'm glad I finally got this chapter done.**

 **After I post this chapter, don't expect me to work on this as often as I want to, because as the weeks go by, school will get rougher on me with homework, tests and quizzes to study for, etc. Speaking of tests and quizzes, as of this post, I got a friggin Test on my Biology 1 class this Wednesday. Fun! I really do hope I do well on it when the time comes.**

 **While I'm doing this A.N., allow me to explain a segment I like to call: "OVA Epilogue Time!" These are segments of a chapter that can either take place after this chapter, or at any random time without mess up the storyline, like in school, or a quick interaction with Issei and one of his friends for example. Yes, one of these OVA Epilogues are going to be the one with the Udon, as well as some of the other OVAs the anime tackled, but those aren't happening in a while.**

 **I also cannot promise that there will be one every single chapter. There will either be one at an appropriate chapter to do one (like the anime OVAs), or if I have an idea for one that isn't a DXD special episode with a personality-swap for Issei (Meaning in these specials, like in the fanfic, he's not perverted, he's a strong, brave, and somewhat shy character).**

 **Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Issei's Harem list! Let me get that out right now.**

 **Issei's Harem: Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Aika.**

 **And that's that for now. Don't worry, the girl's in the official DXD canon Harem are going to be on that list, I just for some odd reason only want to add them on there when they make their debut in this fic. I hope you understand.**

 **P.S. If anyone's wondering about that mask Rias picked up earlier, no worries, she's gonna talk to Issei about it next chapter.**

 **P.P.S. No, Issei doesn't know Akeno's got Fallen Angel in her, he's just reminding her that he won't judge others by their faction.**

 **Next chapter: Unexpected encounters (Title of chapter); Issei continues his "quest" to get more contracts to make his master proud, but as he's doing so, some of his encounters will be, as the title of the chapter suggests it, unexpected.**

 **Until then, tha tha, tha tha, tha tha, that's all folks!**


	7. Chapter 6: Unexpected encounters

_**Before we begin:**_

"talking."

'thinking'

 **{Ddraig talking from Boosted Gear and in Issei's dream World.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement}_

" **Creatures that will be in this chapter."**

 _ **Right, Moving on!**_

Chapter 6: Unexpected encounters

* * *

 _ **OCCULT RESEARCH CLUB ROOM**_

"Morning folks!"

Issei made his way to the Occult Research club for another meeting. Upon arrival, he stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes as he noticed a white bra, white panties, and a nun's outfit hanging on a wire rack where the group was supposed to meet. Issei also heard the sound of humming coming from the shower. He recognized the voice as Asia's and made the conclusion that she was showering at the moment. Still knowing that her clothes were out in the open, he took two steps back and face palmed himself with a sigh of irritation.

"Okay," he spoke with a hint of frustration. "Who in their right mind would think hanging their clothes out in the open would be a good idea?! It's bad enough there's a shower there, but come on, clothes?! Especially female ones?!"

"Issei-san? Is that you?"

Issei jumped when he heard Asia call to him. Asia was told by him to call him Issei-san when in school in case the students get the wrong idea, like they always do at times.

"S-S-Sorry, Asia!" replied the flushed Issei. "I didn't know you were in here! I'll take my leave now!"

"N-No, it's fine," Asia insisted, leaving the shower with a towel wrapped around her, signaling that she was finished.

Issei immediately turned his direction away from her with his flushed face still intact. "No, Really. I'll wait for you to get dressed so we can wait for the others to show up."

After saying this, he left the room and waited for Asia to fully get dressed.

'Phew! That was a close one,' Issei said in his thoughts. 'I almost lost my mind back there.'

He then heard a knock on the door from behind him.

"Issei-san, you can come in now."

After Asia gave him the green light to enter, he began to enter the room. He hesitated at first, but he made it in the room with his sanity in one piece, thanks to Asia being in her nun's outfit now.

"I'm sorry Issei-san," Asia apologized as he made his way to one of the sofas, with Asia sitting next to him after he took his seat. "I didn't mean to cause you any trouble back there."

"Oh no, it's fine," Issei assured while scratching the back of his head shyly. "You didn't do anything wrong. No worries." He then decided to ask her a question. "So, how's living in the old school building? Are you holding up alright?"

"Yes, I am," replied Asia with a smile. "But it won't be for long. Buchou told me that she'd find me a place to stay before you guys have to go to school."

"I see." Issei then gave her an encouraging wink and smile. "But don't worry, if you need help on anything school related, be sure to let me know. I'll help however I can."

Asia's smile grew. "Thank you Issei-san. You really are the best."

Issei chuckled and scratched the back of his head again after hearing her compliment.

After two minutes have passed, the club room doors open revealing Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba entering the room.

"Good morning," Kiba said to Issei and Asia.

"What up?" Koneko said with her usual emotionless tone.

"Good morning Asia-chan. Morning Issei-kun~." Akeno waved to Asia and gave Issei a cute wink in his direction, which made him blush and scratch the back of his head.

"Ah, you two are here, Good morning."

Issei noticed Rias and waved his hand. "Yeah, morning folks."

Rias smiled and made her way to her desk. After she took her seat, she set her attention towards Issei.

"Ise, I would like to have a word with you."

Issei nodded to him and made his way towards her desk. Kiba and Koneko started a game of Chess while Asia was watching them compete. Akeno went to make some tea for the group while Issei and Rias were talking about his current situation.

"Early morning training?" Issei asked his president.

"Yes," Rias replied nodding. "Your fight against the enemy last night make one thing clear: we need to get you stronger than you were before when stronger enemies appear. As for your magic power, while it is high enough to get you through transportation circles, we won't be able to train you there due to your current inability to control it."

After hearing that part, Issei looked at his left arm with a calculating expression. 'She must be talking about that black aura with white outlining.'

The two turned their heads to see Akeno back with a trolley of tea.

"For you two," Akeno said to the two, offering them a cup first.

"Thank you, Akeno," Rias said to her Queen, accepting the cup from the trolley.

"Oh, thanks for that, Akeno-senpai," Issei accepted his cup as well.

"You're quite welcome, Issei-kun~," Akeno replied with another wink given to him, making him blush once more while scratching the back of his head. Akeno giggled at his actions while holding a hand on her cheek.

"Anyway," Rias continued, getting Issei's attention. "You're lucky to have won your battle against Rika back at the church last night." Rias then began to reach her hand towards her desk's drawers for something. "She did throw a spear at your skull." She got the object she was looking for and pulled it out of the drawer to show it to Issei. "If it hadn't been for this mask, you would've been done for."

When she showed it to Issei, Akeno and Kiba's eyes were narrowed at the mask. Koneko on the other hand had a look of shock when she laid her eyes on it. While Asia too recognized it, she was confused about why the others were looking at it with such looks.

Issei recognized the mask as well, but was surprised at what Rias said about it.

"That mask… Protected me?"

The mask in question was bone-white in color and had a shape of a skull with reptilian teeth and three black stripes residing on the top left of the mask. The nose part of the mask was cracked while the left eye part was destroyed, with the top left and bottom left and jaw still intact.

"Yes, it did," answered Rias. "I was surprised to see that you had this object with you on that night."

Issei raised an eyebrow after her sentence. "Wait, are you sure that I had that with me last night?"

"Ise," Rias was surprised at his question as she set the mask on her desk. Everyone else except for Issei were also surprised as well. "How can you have the mask on and not know about it? Didn't you take it home with you after that incident with the stray exorcist?"

"Well," Issei began while scratching the back of his head. "That's not quite how it went down."

Issei then began to explain what happened to the mask resting on Rias' desk.

* * *

 _Flashback:_

 _Issei and Koneko were going in the same direction to their homes after Issei got patched up from his injuries. While on his way home, he took out the mask that he had after the incident with Freed from his bag and started to observe it. He smiled at it, praising how awesome it looked with its badass skull shaped design, and the three black vertical stripes were a cool touch for it. And since it was just an ordinary mask now after 'maturing' his Boosted Gear to reject his Hollow transformation, he decided to keep it and use it as a face guard, just in case._

 _While he was looking at it, Issei jumped as he saw the mask leave his hand, and turned to see that it was Koneko, who had a worried and scared expression, who swiped it from him._

" _Hey, Koneko-chan," Issei called to her, getting her attention. "What are you doing with my mask?"_

" _I'm destroying it!" Replied the jumpy Koneko. Issei was surprised to see her this way when she usually doesn't express any emotions, except for smiling at certain times. "I don't like it!" Koneko continued. "I can still feel something dangerous from it!"_

" _Hang on Koneko-chan," Issei insisted. "While I understand why you're concerned, It's just a simple mask now. Can't I at least use it as a face guard so I can protect myself from deadly attacks to the skull or something like that?"_

 _Koneko's body shook in fear and started shaking her head rapidly. "No! I'm not taking any chances!" Koneko proceeded to throw the mask on the ground and lift her right foot up._

" _No, wait!"_

 _SMASH!_

 _It was too late. Koneko stomped on the mask, destroying it in pieces. Issei looked at the broken pieces with upset eyes, knowing that he won't be taking the mask home with him. With a sigh, Issei continued walking home, as did Koneko, with a look of relief after she destroyed the mask_

 _Flashback End_

* * *

"And that was that," Issei concluded. "The mask shattered into tiny bite sized pieces in one stomp."

After sharing his story, Everyone, minus Issei and Asia Had their eyes as wide as saucers. Koneko's eyes were wider than everyone else while she was shuddering at how the mask was still there after she thought to have gotten rid of it. Asia on the other hand, was confused at why everyone was in shock at Issei's explanation.

"What?" Issei noticed the worried looks of his friends, minus Asia. "Koneko-chan and I had the same path home, if that's what you're wondering." Issei then went to pick up the mask from Rias' desk and observed it with a look of amusement on his face. "I must say, I'm surprised that this thing was what saved me from getting a spear-head. I could've sworn Koneko-chan destroyed it. It looks just like the previous mask I use to have."

While Issei continued to look at the mask, Rias noticed Koneko's stressed look as she was staring at the mask in Issei's hands. Rias now has her sights on Issei.

"Let me take it, Ise," Rias said to him, catching his attention as he turned to her direction. "I'm going to investigate it and see if there's anything suspicious about it."

"Eh?" Issei said confused. "But… I just got it back-"

"Hand it over, Ise!" Rias held a serious look. "That's an order!"

Issei jumped at her sudden tone.

"Oh, uhh, Yes ma'am. Please, take it."

As Issei handed the mask to her, she took one last look at it with concern before setting it on the desk near her.

'I don't know if this is really the case... But still, better safe than sorry.'

Rias then looked at Issei. "Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the schedule of your training."

Issei nodded to her in response, allowing her to continue.

"I'll come and pick you up from your place at five AM. Does that sound good?"

Issei scratched the back of his head in nervousness. "Well… I'm not so sure about that time."

"Worry not, Ise," Rias assured. "I notified your parents about it, and they're alright with it."

"You didn't hypnotize them to get them to agree, didn't you?"

Rias giggled at Issei's question. "Of course not silly. Why would you think I would?"

"Because you're a Devil." Issei replied with a deadpan, making Rias giggle again.

Issei just sighed at her reaction to his answer. "Anyway, I'm off to deliver fliers."

"Of course," said Rias. "I'll see you then."

After Issei left, Rias sets her sights on Asia.

"So, Asia-chan."

Asia turned her head to Rias' direction. "Yes, Buchou?"

Rias then smiled to her new Bishop. "Let's talk about the sleeping arrangements."

"Huh?" A question mark popped out of her head, wondering what she was going to say next.

* * *

[Intro music: Bleach: Brave souls opening. **(A.N. I meant to put this on the previous chapters.)** ]

* * *

 _ **THE NEXT DAY**_

 **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!** Click.

Issei was rubbing his eyes after he awoken from his slumber. He slowly got out of his bed and went to his closet to get his school uniform on.

"Welp, here we go," Issei says to himself, getting prepared for the training Rias is going to give him.

He made his way downstairs to have his breakfast, brushed his teeth, and got ready to meet up with Rias.

"Have a great day dear," Issei's mother said with a smile and wave.

"Of course, Mom. You two take care," Replied Issei with a smile.

"Don't have too much fun with her, son," Issei's father teased with a grin on his face, earning a bonk on his head from his mother this time, not Issei, though Issei did have a tick mark on his head.

"Don't be silly!" shouted his mother.

Issei's father only chuckled while rubbing the knot on his head. Issei sweat dropped at the scene and left the house to meet up with Rias. As Issei closed the door behind him, he noticed Rias wearing pinkish red winter gym clothes while on her bicycle.

"Ah, Ise. Glad you could make it."

Issei only scratched the back of his head shyly in response, earning a giggle from her.

"Right, now let's start training with running."

"Umm, okay," replied Issei.

With that said, Issei's training has begun.

* * *

While Issei was running, Rias was riding her bicycle next to him to check on his current status in stamina. He was doing well so far, but Rias decided to tell him information about stamina.

"Remember, there will be enemies that will have impressive speed like my Knight, Kiba. You need to have the stamina necessary to avoid the attacks of your enemies with said speed and to keep on fighting as well. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" replied Issei, who was trying to keep up with Rias. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind!"

Rias smiled at his response. "Good! Now keep up the pace!"

Issei continued his running for the next five minutes before Rias decided it was time to move on to the next part of training. Rias was quite impressed with his stamina and how he was able to keep up with her pedaling of her bicycle. It made her question if he trained for a marathon when he was in middle school.

* * *

The next phase in Issei's training was to have him reach his hands in front of his toes while sitting down. For him, it was a painful procedure to do so. He may have trained in combat back when he was eleven, but the hardest part of it all was the stretching.

"Listen, in the world of Devils, intelligence doesn't matter as much as strength," explained Rias as she was getting him to reach farther. "So you've got to get stronger than you currently are, in mind and body."

"Roger that!"

Issei then deadpanned to himself while sweat dropping. 'As for the mind part, I kinda already got that part down.'

* * *

After they wrapped up the stretching exercise, they moved on to push-ups next. However, Rias was sitting on Issei's back to make performing the push-ups harder. He was wobbly at first, but he got better at doing it with the additional weight in a minute.

"Remember, the stronger you get, the more powerful you are, the more powerful you are, the more you can accomplish!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Issei continued doing the push-ups, getting better every push-up. After he did twenty more, Rias got off of him. He noticed her actions from no longer feeling the pressure of her weight. He turned his head to wear she was and saw her with an astonished expression.

"Hey, Ise, I've been meaning to ask," Rias began. "Were you always this strong before I reincarnated you?"

Issei got into a sitting position on the ground.

"Well, when I was eleven, my parents took me to self defense classes for Martial Arts and Kendo."

"Really?" Rias asked surprised. "You got this strong from such simple combat training?"

"Yup," replied Issei nonchalantly. "After I finished the classes, I trained myself on the two fighting styles for as long as I can remember, hence how I'm strong to rough up the bullies and selfish perverts in our school, and that Fallen Angel Rika."

Rias looked on in amusement at Issei's explanation. She then remembered something.

"Oh, that's right. I wonder when she's gonna show up?"

"Eh?" Issei raised an eyebrow at her sentence. "Who's coming?"

"Hey you guys!"

Issei's question was answered when he heard a recognizable voice. He turned his head to the source of it and saw that it was Asia running to them with a basket in her hand.

"So sorry that I'm late! I won't let it happen agai-IAAAAHHH!"

Asia tripped herself up and started falling. Luckily, Issei made it to her in time and caught her so she wouldn't hit the ground.

"You alright?" Issei asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," replied Asia. "Aww, I'm not good at running and talking at the same time."

Issei only smiled to her and helped her to her feet.

"Okay Ise," Rias said, getting his attention. "Let's go ahead and have a break. You two can take a seat on the bench."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Issei as he and Asia made their way to the bench. After they got seated, Asia offered Issei some coffee.

"Oh, thank you very much." Issei said with a smile.

"You're welcome, Issei-san."

"So, Asia," he began to ask. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Buchou asked me if I could come and give you support."

Issei was surprised at her answered and turned his head to Rias.

"Is that true Buchou."

Issei's question didn't get answered by her. In fact, Rias was glaring towards her right about something.

"Buchou?"

He finally got her attention as she snapped back into reality and looked at him.

"I'm sorry?"

"Is everything alright?" Issei asked her with concern. "You look as if someone threatened to do something terrible to you."

"Now that Asia's here, let's head back to your place." Rias said, ignoring his question.

"Eh?" Issei was surprised at her sudden wording. "Why are we going back to my place?"

Rias smiled to him. "To have a word with your parents about something."

Issei raised an eyebrow at her statement, but decided to agree with her "Okay then."

As Issei, Rias, and Asia made their way to Issei's house, Issei was looking at Rias with the concern he had back when he saw her dozing off.

'She ignored my question back there. What was up with her? Whatever it is, I hope it's nothing major and that she'll be okay.'

* * *

As the three made it to his house, Issei noticed some packed boxes near the entrance and pointed at them.

"Umm, who's boxes are these?"

"Umm, that's all of my stuff."

He turned to Asia with a surprised look after she revealed that the boxes of stuff belonged to her.

"Apparently, I had more than I thought I did," Asia continued.

"But why did you bring them here?" Issei asked in curiosity. He then turned to Rias in hope that she has some answers. "Do you know what's going on Buchou?"

"Well, as of today, Asia's going to be moving in with you and you're parents."

"Wait, what?" Issei was surprised at her explanation and how nonchalant she was about it.

He then noticed Asia bowing to him, which made his cheeks brighten pink.

"I'm really happy to be living with you Issei-san."

Rias then tapped Issei on the shoulder, getting his attention. "When I asked her where she'd like to live, the first thing she said was 'Issei-san's house.'"

Issei's eyes have widened after her next explanation. "EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH?!"

* * *

 _ **INSIDE THE HYOUDOU RESIDENCE HOUSE**_

After Rias explained the situation to Issei's parents, their eyes have widened in surprise.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" Issei's father asked the blonde girl. "Was it Asia?" He pronounced her name as a continent.

"Close, It's Asia, sir," Asia corrected him with how her name is actually said.

"Right, Asia," he still got it wrong, making Issei and his mother deadpan. "Surely there's a better long-term living situation than moving in with us."

"Well, you see," Asia began to explain. "I owe your son and I need to pay him back."

"Huh? Owe him?" Issei's father asked in surprise.

Issei's mother was surprised too as she looked in her son's direction. Issei put his hands up in defense.

"Please don't get the wrong idea Mom!"

"You see, I came to this town all by myself," Asia continued while smiling, getting his parents' attention back. "I don't know what I would've done if it wasn't for him. He's such a nice boy. He looked after me whenever I was in distress and confused about certain things in this country. And Because of that, I hope you'll allow me to take care of him."

Issei's cheeks turned light pink as he scratched the back of his head chuckling. "You're too kind."

"But if you're uncomfortable, I can look somewhere else," Asia finished.

"Oh darling, were not saying you can't stay here," Issei's mother assured her. "And Lord knows we have the room." She then looked at Issei with a smile. "Plus, Issei here is the best son we could ever ask for, and I'm sure he'll get along with you just fine."

Issei's face flushed while he scratched the back of his head with smile.

"Yes, I agree with you, Yuki," Issei's father said. "In fact, I'm still surprised he still doesn't have a girlfriend at this point."

"Dad!" Issei snapped with a pissed off expression, blushing with a tick mark on his forehead. "Don't mention such embarrassing things in front of her!"

Issei only earned a teasing chuckle from his father.

"In addition to moving in, there's something else she can get out of living here with your son," Rias explained. "Not only can she learn more about Japanese culture, she can also learn to be a good wife."

"""She can learn _what_?!""" Issei, his father, and now-named mother, Yuki said in sync.

Issei's parents then held their hands while looking at each other with stars in their eyes.

"Finally, our son has finally found himself a girl!"

Issei face faulted after hearing his father say that.

"Maybe if they get along well enough, they'll actually marry and give us some cute grandchildren!"

Issei shot his head in Yuki's direction with wide eyes and a tick mark. "Oh Come on! You too?!"

"I'm sure you both know this, but I want to say that your son is the sweetest of all people I've met."

Issei's pink in his cheeks returned after Asia gave him such a sweet compliment.

"Aww! Isn't she as cute as a button?" Yuki asked with a hand on her cheek.

"Indeed, she is," Agreed Issei's father with a smile. He then looked at Rias. "Ms. Gremory, we would love to take in Asia and let her live with our badass son."

Issei blushed a light shade of red at his father calling him a 'badass'.

"Thank you very much for your kindness Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou," Rias thanked with a smile and closed eyes. She then turned her head to look at Issei. "Well, that settles it."

Issei proceeded to scratch the back of his head while wanting to clear something up.

"Um, just because we're talking about marriage doesn't mean we're really doing it right? I'm way too young to do something like that."

Rias widened her eyes at his question and then looked towards the ceiling with a distressed look.

"If you're lucky."

"Hey, you okay?" Issei asked after she noticed her current behavior, but didn't get an answer from her as she was still looking at the ceiling with her look still intact. He also noted that this was the second time she started spacing out like this.

'This time she did it after I talked about marriage. Could she be in a forced marriage she wants no involvement in?' Issei could only guess this as he had no idea what she _really_ was spacing out about.

* * *

 _ **KUOH ACADEMY; CLASS 2-B**_

Issei was sitting in his desk staring out the window at the clouds while waiting for class to begin. Rias told him that Asia will be in his second year classroom, which made him glad, and worried at the same time. The glad part is that he'll be able to talk with her during break and after school. The worried part is that the infamous Perverted Duo attend his class as well, and we all know how they are. Because of this, he'll have to watch over Asia no matter what. She's like a sister to him since she lives with him now and he does not want her to become something, well, naughty.

"Morning, Issei-kun."

Issei stopped looking at the clouds and turned his head to the source of the voice. He saw that it was the two main girls of the Kendo club, Katase, who had a bright smile on, and Murayama, who had a shy expression with a light red blush on her cheeks. Aika was accompanying them as well, but she went to her seat and took out her school work, but not before giving Issei a smile and wave.

"Oh, morning Katase-san and Murayama-san," Issei greeted with a smile and wave. "What's up?"

Katase was the first to speak. "We're doing quite swell, how about yourself?"

Issei smiled to them with closed eyes, which made Murayama blush a semi-darker red. "I'm doing all right, thank you."

Katase giggled happily in response to his answer.

"So, Issei-kun, Murayama and I were wondering something if you don't mind."

"Oh?" Issei had a raised eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Well, I'm sure Aika-san already told you a few weeks ago," Katase explained. "But we we're wondering if you would like to visit us at the Kendo club and train with us. That is if you're free of course."

Issei remembered Aika talking to him about this before. Back then, he wasn't able to go due to the sun giving him a hard time back then. Unfortunately, he still can't go due to his duties as a Devil.

"Sorry, I won't be able to come today due to club activities. But thanks for the offer though," Issei told them with an apologetic tone.

"Aww, that's too bad," Katase said with a disappointed expression. Murayama looked twice as disappointed as her friend did.

"But don't worry," Issei assured them, "Whenever I get any free time, I'll be sure to drop on by."

Hearing that made Katase and Murayama smile.

"We'll be looking forward for your visit then," replied Katase.

Issei then remembered something and looked at the girl's with a serious expression, surprising the two.

"I almost forgot, I have a favor to ask you girls, since you are apart of the Kendo Club."

Murayama blushed at his words, but Katase understood that it was serious.

"What is it Issei-kun?"

Issei motioned his hand for Katase to come closer. She complied to his motion. He then began to talk to her so only him, Katase, and Murayama can hear. This was what he told them.

"Listen, a new transfer student will be joining our class today. She's a blonde-haired girl that goes by the name Asia Argento. I know this because she lives with me at my home. She's like a sister to me, and I know that I won't be able to protect her from any suspicious people at school. You see, what I'm asking is for you two to protect her from any bad people, especially the Perverted Duo from any harm when I'm not around.

Katase and Murayama widened their eyes at the information Issei gave them, and then softened them when they heard how she was like a sister to him and wanted to protect her from harm. After taking in the information, Katase winked to him and gave him a thumbs up.

"Don't you worry one bit. We'll make sure she's safe." She then turned her friend. "Right, Murayama-san?"

Murayama was snapped out of her thoughts with a light-red blush and quickly nodded to her.

The three then noticed a few of the girls in their class slightly pout in Katase and Murayama's direction.

"What's up with them?" Issei asked in curiosity.

Katase giggled at his question. "Well, you are known as the Prince of Justice by most of the girls in our school."

Issei's face flushed red and scratched the back of his head in shyness, remembering all of the compliments he was getting from the girls while making his way to his class.

"In fact," Katase continued. "My friend, Murayama-san here thinks that y-mmmmph! Mmmph!"

Murayama stopped Katase's talking by covering her mouth with her hand while blushing a deep shade of red.

"Katase-san! Don't say such things out loud!"

Issei could only look at the two with a sweat drop while continuing to scratch the back of his head, unsure what Katase was going to say next. Before he could question it any further, The school bell rang, signaling the students to go to their seats to be ready for class. Their teacher, Yuko, entered the classroom with an enthusiastic smile on her face.

"Alright class, I've got wonderful news to share with you all! A transfer student is joining our class today!"

All of the students male and female, except for Issei, Katase, and Murayama, were wondering who this new student was. Some of the boys were hoping it was a hot girl, while some of the girl's were hoping it was a normal guy.

Yuko then turned towards the door with her smile still intact and eyes closed. "Go ahead and introduce yourself dear."

The new transfer student, which was Asia, made her way into the classroom and towards the chalk board to write her name down. As Issei expected, some of the boys were gawking at her beauty. After Asia wrote down her name, she turned to her classmates and introduced herself.

"Hello, my name is Asia Argento." She proceeded to bow to them before continuing her introduction. "I'm feeling a bit like a fish out of water, but I'm excited to be here."

At that moment, all of the boy's were cheering at her introduction, due to how much of a cute girl she is of course.

"Blonde's hot!" shouted Matsuda in delight with a perverted grin.

"Bust 34, waist 26, hips 35! And look at all of that hair!" Motohama exclaimed while his glasses were shining.

Issei was grinding his teeth while glaring daggers at the Perverted Duo. There was no way in hell that these to were going to have their way with her.

"Being in a new school in a strange town can be overwhelming," Asia explained to the class. "But luckily, I'm living with Issei-san and his family."

'Uh oh.' Issei deadpanned and sweat dropped after she said those words.

"WHAT?!"

All of the boys were now glaring at Issei, while some of the girls were crying anime tears.

"Dammit all! Another beauty taken by that Prince of Justice Bastard!" one boy exclaimed.

"Mother Fucker! Why did it have to be him?!" Another boy cried out.

"Nooooo! The new girl's got to him!" one girl said with anime tears streaming down her face.

"Why can't I live with him?!"

'WHAT?!' Issei had a bewildered expression while blushing a dark shade of red after hearing another girl say that.

Before he could think of anything else after hearing such words. He felt his shirt pulled and was displeased to see that it was Matsuda and Motohama, who for some odd reason aren't afraid of him right now, trying to interrogate Issei; keyword _trying._

"Tell us your secret bastard!" Matsuda shouted while keeping a good grip on Issei's shirt, While Issei's tick mark was slowly growing from his head.

"Yeah!" added Motohama. "This is a fucking outrage! Why do you get all of the girls in this school damn you?! We're sick of you always taking the fame and-"

PA-POW!

Issei shut the two perverts up by giving both of them a very hard sucker punch to their faces. The other boys looked on at this scene amazed and frightened at the same time because he punched them both in one punch.

"Get your filthy hands off me you damn perverts!" Issei shouted with his tick mark still intact. "My parents brought her in because she went through so much hell in her life, and we aren't the type of family to turn someone like her down!"

Some of the boys and all of the girls' eyes have softened towards him and Asia after hearing his explanation. Asia on the other hand, had a light blush and a sweet smile on her face as he said those words.

"But keep in mind boys," Issei continued, getting everyone's attention. "Asia's like a sister to me, so if any of you bastards try anything funny with her," Issei paused so he can crack his knuckles loud enough for everyone to hear, sending a shiver down the boys' spines. Issei then sent a glare to the boys with fire in his eyes. "Then you're answering to me! Got it!"

The boys nodded their heads at a rapid pace as they immediately took their seats. Issei breathed a sigh of relief afterwards.

"Hyoudou-san," Issei turned his attention to his teacher, Yuko, as she was looking at him with a serious expression.

"While I understand you're only protecting your housemate, please try to tone down the violence in the classroom, okay? I'm not in the mood for any broken bones around here."

Realizing his current situation, his cheeks turned pink and bowed to her in response.

"Yes ma'am. I'll try my best to restrain myself."

Issei didn't notice while he took his seat after his bow, but the girls were looking at him with stars in their eyes.

"Now then, Argento-san, go ahead and take a seat next to Hyoudou-san," Yuko instructed Asia. "Because I personally trust him with you more than anyone else."

The boy's felt pain inside after hearing her say that.

"Yes, of course," Asia replied as she made her way to the desk next to Issei's.

"Phew! Now that that's taken care of, let's get started with Today's lesson."

* * *

 _ **LUNCH BREAK**_

School went well for Asia. She was able to make new friends and also got to spend more time with Issei. During lunch break, Issei was walking in the cafeteria with Asia, and she got invited to eat lunch with the first two new friends she made: Katase and Murayama. They also invited Issei, and he accepted the offer as well. While they were eating together, Issei noticed out of the corner of his eye Murayama whispering something to Asia. Thanks to his Devil's hearing, he could tell what she's saying.

"Hey, Asia, There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Oh? What is it Murayama-san?"

Murayama poked her two index fingers together shyly while a blush was on her cheeks.

"Umm, what's it like to live with Issei-kun?"

"What's it like?" Asia asked with a question mark popping out of her head. Issei raised an eyebrow at why Murayama wanted to know what it's like living with him. And judging by the blush on her cheeks, he kinda knew why, making him have some pink dust his own cheeks.

"Well," Asia began to explain with a smile. "He's such a great guy to be around. He's helpful when I'm confused about something, and as he stated before, he and his parents were happy to accept me in their home."

"Oh, I see." Murayama's blush turned darker, as she was thinking about something. Katase knew exactly what she was thinking about as she quietly snickered.

"So… What kind of things does he like?" Murayama shyly asked.

"Huh?" Asia was confused on her next question. "I'm not sure yet. But why do you want to know these things?"

Murayama's blush was now a shade of a tomato as she fiddled her fingers together.

"Well… You see… I..."

"Hey, Asia-san." Asia's attention was now on Katase, who had a cute smile on her face.

"You see, my friend here is asking you this because she has a c-mmmmph!"

"Katase-san, No!"

Issei could only chuckle at the scene before him while blushing and scratching the back of his head.

"Tsk! I was hoping not to see _you_ here with her!"

The four widened their eyes and turned their heads to the source of a punk-sounding voice. Their eyes were now focused on a third year male student with a black Mohawk.

"I heard that the new student here was a cute girl, so I thought I'd introduce myself to the cutie. But it all had to be ruined with _you_ around her."

Seeing him as dangerous, Issei nodded to Katase, who nodded back, and looked at the delinquent straight into his eyes with a stern look.

"We don't want any trouble pal, so please, be on your way and let us eat our lunch in peace."

The delinquent only scoffed at his request. "And let you take all the fame with the girls? Not happening, punk!"

Issei stood up from the table while keeping direct eye contact with the delinquent, catching all of the students, male and female's attention towards the two. This man was clearly getting on his nerves.

"It's just a friendly lunch together, and those three girls are just my friends," Issei explained as calm as he could. "I don't know how you see it as 'stealing the fame with them'."

"Don't think I don't know about your reputation here, punk!"

The delinquent proceeded to grab onto the collar of his shirt and lift him up in the air, with Issei not being phased by it at all.

"No! Let him go!" Asia protested. Before she could do anything, Issei lifted a hand towards her, signaling her to not do anything.

The delinquent then looked at Asia and smirked. "Come now, baby, forget this loser and go out with me. I promise that I'll give you a good t-OOF!"

Before he could finish his sentence, everyone widened in the cafeteria widened their eyes in surprise to see Issei kneeing him in the gut. Since the breath was taken from the attack, he lost his grip on Issei's collar, allowing him to land on the ground safely. Issei took a moment to glare at the delinquent who was trying to get air back into his lungs. Once he did, Issei lifted his left foot off the ground and delivered a hard kick in his face, knocking him back three feet and making the delinquent's head hit the wall behind him hard, knocking him out cold.

Issei proceeded to scratch the back of his head in irritation.

"Are _all_ boy's in this school like this?!" he asked to nobody in particular.

Katase, Murayama, and Asia looked on in amazement at his strength to take down the delinquent with just a knee and a kick. The four then jumped as he heard the students, mostly girls while some were boys, cheer on at Issei's actions.

"That punk there gave me a hard time for so long!" one male student said.

"I'm glad there's someone to stand up to him!" another male student said in relief.

The four then heard some squealing from the girls.

"Way to go, Prince of Justice!"

Issei's face flushed a dark shade of red and took his seat back with the three girls. But, the bright side to that is that at least some of the guys here are appreciating what he's doing.

* * *

 _ **AFTER SCHOOL**_

After the trouble in the cafeteria has been taken care of, and that Issei and Asia has finished up the rest of the school subjects, the two made their way to the Occult research club to get some fliers to deliver to some clients. Issei was kind enough to take Asia with her and help deliver her fliers while he does so with his. The two are currently returning from their deliveries by Issei's Bicycle with Asia sitting behind him hanging on tight so she won't fall off. Issei took a quick look behind him and smiled to see that Asia was having a good time.

"So, Asia," Issei said to Asia, breaking the silence. "How was your first day of school? Did it go well for you?"

"Oh, it was splendid," replied the smiling Asia. "I'm even excited about how nice everyone was today, especially those three girls Katase-san, Murayama-san, and Aika-san."

Issei chuckled happily, glad that she had a great first day. However, he was still concerned for her, making him ask that one question.

"Umm, Those classmates we have, Matsuda and Motohama, they didn't try anything creepy, did they?"

Asia took a moment to think about his question.

"No, but they did invite me to something they call a Devil's three-way."

A tick mark appeared on Issei's forehead as he tightened the handlebars and held a pissed off expression.

'Those bastards are still trying to get to her, are they?!'

Calming himself down, Issei took a breath turned to Asia with a serious expression.

"Whatever you do, promise me you won't _ever_ go to that. Those guys are about as crooked as some of the delinquents in our school."

"Oh, okay."

After Issei warned her about the two perverts, Issei ran over a small rock, making him lose balance for a moment. Asia held on to him tightly so she won't fall and hurt herself. After a couple of seconds, he regained his balance.

"Hey, you alright?" Issei asked her in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."

Issei nodded in response to her answer and continued cycling his way to the club. While riding, Issei's cheeks turned light red when he noticed that Asia was snuggling into his back during the ride back. Issei couldn't help but smile and giggle at this adorable scene.

'We're kinda like brother and sister like this.'

* * *

 _ **OCCULT RESEARCH CLUB ROOM**_

"Buchou, Asia and I are back from delivering fliers."

Issei and Asia returned to club room see Rias. Issei widened his eyes a little to see that Rias was staring into space again with that same distressed look.

"Earth to Buchou?"

Rias widened her eyes and turned to where Issei was.

"Oh! Sorry, I guess I spaced out there for a moment. It's been one of those days."

Issei didn't buy it. He knew something was up, but he decided to not pressure her about it.

"Asia-chan?" Rias said to her, getting her attention.

"Yes ma'am."

Rias stood up from her desk before continuing to speak.

"If you don't have any problems with it, I was thinking you could make your big debut tonight."

"Debut?" Asia asked confused.

Issei tapped on her shoulder to get her attention and explain what she's suppose to do.

"Basically, you jump to a potential client using a magic circle and try to make a pact with them." He then turned to Rias with a concerned expression. "But don't you think it's too early for that? Asia's new to this, and she hasn't been a Devil for a week."

"You need to relax, sweetie."

Issei turned his head left to see Akeno carrying a tray of tea.

"Don't you worry your precious pumpkin head about her, she's totally awesome. When it comes to magical powers, that girl's got almost as much game as I do."

"Wow! Really?" Issei asked in surprise.

Rias nodded to him with a giggle. "Well, I didn't make her my Bishop for nothing."

"Congrats on that, too," Kiba said with a smile. "Bishop's impressive."

"Oh, thanks a lot," Asia thanked with a shy smile.

Issei was happy for her too, but was still worried about this whole 'debut' thing.

"Asia, everything okay?" Rias noticed that Asia was looking towards the floor quietly.

"Oh, umm, yeah," assured Asia, "I'm just nervous, that's all."

That's when Issei decided to step in.

"Hey Buchou?"

Rias noticed his worried expression and looked at him. "Yes, Ise?"

"I think it would be best if I went in Asia's place," Issei voiced his concerns with a serious tone.

"Really?" Asia was surprised at his sudden words.

"Of course, Asia," replied Issei with a smile. "You haven't been in the area long enough to know your way around yet. It's best we send you out after you've had a chance to get a better feel for the place." He then looked towards the ground with anger visible. "Besides, I can't risk having the client want something that will, dare I say, scar you in any sort of way. There's no telling what will await you on he other side."

"Ara ara, you're like the brother she could ever ask for~."

Issei blushed at Akeno's compliment and scratched the back of his head.

"O-Of course. It's bad enough we got some perverts in our school after her, but as for the clients, *shudder*, I don't even want to think about it."

Rias and Akeno giggled at his last comment.

"Alright then, I'll have Akeno get the transportation circle ready. I hope you can score a pact from this, Ise."

"Of course," agreed Issei. "I'll be sure to try my best."

With that said, Akeno prepared the transportation circle for Issei so he can teleport to the client's home. Issei stepped into the circle and let himself be engulfed by the light.

 **POOF!**

* * *

Issei opened his eyes and saw that he made it to the client's home. He now had a look of shock to see that it was a girls room. To clarify: It was a room full of magical girl posters, DVDs, games, etc.

'Oh dear Lord...'

Issei realized what he said and expected to get his head zapped, but after a few seconds, nothing happened. This made Issei form a victory grin!

'HA! It doesn't count because some people from different factions and other random people can be called lords! Therefore, it can't be exclusive to holy people! SUCK ON THAT!'

"Ah! You must be the Devil! Glad you could make it~!"

Issei's face paled while donning a look of fear. The voice he heard most definitely sounded like it belonged to a dude that was trying to talk like a girl. He slowly turned around to find the source of the voice while going in his head: 'No no no! No, no, no no, no no no no no!'

As he fully turned around, his paling increased to near pure-white as he saw a behemoth that was dressed in a magical princess outfit.

"OH SWEET SASSY MOLASSY!"

"Hi there~! My name's Mil-tan~!"

The now-named Mil-tan performed a magical girl pose, which made Issei face fault so hard on the ground, he started to have a headache coming on.

Trying to keep himself calm, Issei introduced himself as politely as he could.

"M-M-My name's Issei Hyoudou… I-I-I'm the Devil Lady Gremory s-s-sent to you. H-How can I grant your wish?" 'Without having me drop dead right in this room?!'

After Issei finished his introduction, Mil-tan clasped his hands together.

"Look here, Tiny Tim, Mil-tan wants you to turn her into a magical fairy princess~!"

"Yeah, and I wish I had the ability to travel through time via a DeLorean DMC-12," replied the deadpanning Issei. "Sorry to break it to you, but I'm not able to do that."

"Come on, Devil-chan~!" insisted Mil-tan, making Issei jump. "If you give me the power, I'll let you lick my loli-pop!

"I'm sorry!" Issei apologized while cringing. "I don't think we Devils are allowed to grant humans that kind of power! If you ask me, you're fabulous enough already!"

Mil-tan buried his face into his hands and started crying, making Issei sweat drop at the scene.

"WAAAAHHH! I just want to be a super magical fairy!"

Wanting him to stop crying, Issei sighed and tried to look at him straight in the eye; keyword _tried_.

"Look, we can talk about it instead, alright?"

Mil-tan shot his head up from his hands with a happy expression. At least that's what it looks like to Issei.

"Perfect~! While we talk, we should paint our nails and Gossip!"

Issei cringed at this.

"You can paint your own nails. Please, let's just get on with it!"

Mil-tan immediately ran to his DVD shelf and picked out a DVD. After making his selection, he ran back to Issei and showed it to him.

"I've got a dazzling idea~!" Mil-tan brought the DVD closer towards Issei. "To get us in the mood, let's watch this amazing episode of Magical Milky Girl! Okay~?!"

*Deadpan* 'I'm about to blow my _fucking_ brains out!'

* * *

 _ **OCCULT RESEARCH CLUB ROOM**_

Rias, Akeno , and Asia were currently drinking tea, awaiting the return of Issei, Kiba, and Koneko from their current clients.

POOF!

The three looked at where the teleportation circle was to see that Issei has returned from his client. He had a frustrated expression while clenching his head.

"Ah, Ise, you're back. How did it go?"

Before he could answer her question, he made his way to a nearby sofa and slumped onto it.

"I personally prefer not to see that… _thing_ ever again!" The girls had surprised looks at how agitated he sounded. "This Mil-tan creature made me watch a bunch of magical girl anime since I told him that we weren't allowed to grant humans powers."

"So, you didn't get a pact?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope," replied Issei nonchalantly, "and thank Lord I didn't!"

Rias and Akeno widened their eyes in shock to see that he wasn't clutching his head after saying 'Lord'. Asia only pouted at him, which Issei noticed out of the corner of his eye.

"What's wrong, Asia?"

"How come you're able to say 'Lord' without getting your head zapped?"

Issei chuckled while scratching the back of head.

"Because that's not the kind of lord I was talking about. I've seen plenty of shows where people who aren't holy are called 'Lord' this and 'Lord' that."

The girls' eyes have widened further at his explanation, with Rias unsure about what he said being the truth.

Noting it to herself, Rias looked at Issei, which caught his attention.

"While I understand why you wish to not get a pact from him, I want you to keep in mind that you need some pacts in order to become a high class Devil. I don't want you having only one."

"*Sigh*. I'm aware of that Buchou."

Rias' eyes softened at his response. She then stood up from his desk and walked to him.

"I'll tell you what," Rias spoke with a smile, catching his attention. "I'm currently overbooked on one of my pacts today, so I'll have Akeno teleport you to the client I can't get to because of the other client I'm going to handle."

Issei widened his eyes after hearing this.

"Really?"

Issei's question was answered when he saw Akeno get the transportation circle ready for him.

"Ready to go, Issei-kun?"

Issei nodded to her and made his way to the circle, getting ready to be transported to his next client.

"Good luck Issei-san," Asia cheered. "I know you can do this."

Issei smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks, Asia, I'll do my best."

With that said, Issei waited for the transportation circle to take him to the next client, in hopes that he will get a second pact.

 **POOF!**

* * *

When the transportation was complete, Issei had a look of surprise to see that he was now in what appeared to be a fancy mansion. He had to admit, the inside of the mansion was amazing. He saw paintings of soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary war and some fancy furniture made out of leather. But now wasn't the time to be impressed by fancy living. Issei had to get that contract; for Rias Gremory.

"Hello?" Issei called out, noticing that no one was around. "I'm the Devil sent by Lady Gremory. If you're here, give me a shout."

Issei continued to walk around the house in search for the client and stopped at a flight of stairs that led upwards. Upstairs had four doors that led to their own rooms.

"Maybe he or she's upstairs?"

"YOU DAMN PERVERT!"

BAM! CRASH!

Issei jumped when he heard the sound of a woman yelling and crashing from the third door. He ran up the stairs and to that door to see what the commotion was.

Upon opening the door, he noticed a good looking man wearing a business suit on the ground holding his stomach in pain. He appeared to be at least in his late twenties or his early thirties. His eye color was blue and he had gray hair.

"Hyoudou-kun?"

Issei widened his eyes as he recognized the voice coming from his left. He turned his head and was surprised to see three girls who go to the same school as he does. He knows them as one of the members of the student council. One girl had blue shoulder-length hair with darker blue eyes. She appeared to be a tomboy and had a bishounen face. The second girl was a slim girl who had brown hair that ends in two short braids with matching eyes. She also has a blue headband. The third girl, who was in between the other two, was who Issei recognized the most.

"Shinra-senpai?"

Issei did know that those three, as well as the rest of the council are Devils thanks to his Reiatsu reading ability, but he didn't expect three of them to be here.

Before either could say a word to each other, they heard the man groan in pain while slowly getting up. He then set his sights on Issei.

"Who the hell are you?"

Issei's eyebrow twitched at the man's harsh tone, but postured himself as he began to introduce himself.

"My name is Issei Hyoudou, I'm the Devil sent by Lady Rias-"

"Let me stop you right there," The man interrupted. "I specifically asked for Rias Gremory herself to show up here! I didn't ask for the likes of _you_ to be here!"

The girls noticed Issei's expression turning grim for the moment until he took a deep breath and bowed to him.

"I strongly apologize for the inconvenience, sir," he apologized as politely as he possibly could. "My master was overbooked with another client, so she sent me in hopes that I could fulfill whatever wish you have."

The man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in disappointment. After a moment of silence, his eyes shot open and a smirk appeared on his face. He then set his sights back to Issei.

"Hmm. Maybe this can work out then."

Issei and the girls didn't know what he meant by this, but judging from that smirk, it doesn't seem to be good.

"What do you mean?" Issei asked with a raised eyebrow.

The man slightly chuckled and took two steps towards him, making Issei back up and become suspicious of him.

"Do me a favor will you," his smirk grew bigger as he pointed his finger towards the girls. "And hold one of them down for me."

The girls widened their eyes and had disgusted looks at what he was telling Issei to do.

"Come again?" Issei asked with a tone that sounded harsh. Even the girls noticed the tone.

"Look kid," the man began to explain, "I've been through a rough time with my ex last night and I need something to cheer me up. So, I figured I get me some ladies to do some sexy stuff for me to relieve the stress I've got from that night."

The man then placed his hand on his chest.

"Oh, but don't worry, I'll be sure to give you a share on the fun as well. It's only natural since you are a Devil with a desire for-"

POW!

Before the man could finish his sentence, Issei delivered a hard punch to his face and sent him colliding to a wall. After staying stuck on the wall for three seconds, he fell to the ground on his face, rendering him unconscious.

"Another selfish pervert," Issei said with an angry expression. "Pisses me off!"

The girls were staring at Issei with astonished expressions. They were amazed with the strength he had to knock that man out in one punch. Even Tsubaki was impressed with how strong Issei had become after his time of becoming a Devil.

After dusting off his hands, Issei set his attention to the girls of the student council. Unbeknownst to him, Tsubaki's cheeks have turned an almost noticeable pink as his serious expression was looking in her direction.

"Sorry you had to hear that," Issei said to them. "I had no idea the client that was originally suppose to be my master's would desire something like this."

"Oh no, it's quite alright," the girl with brown hair assured with a smile. "We knew you wouldn't do something like that anyway."

"Of course," agreed Issei while scratching the back of his head. "I'd never want to do something like what he tried to you three anyway." He then turned his head to Tsubaki and shot a sincere smile to her. "Besides, why would I want to take advantage of someone who's helped me out at school twice?"

Tsubaki was taken back by his words. Her eyes then softened at how kind he was to her and her friends. And mentioning her helping him made her blush a dark shade of red. She had to admit to herself, she did find him to be quite cute when she first met him when he requested help to find the office. But that wasn't quite the reason why she was attracted to him. When she first met him, she thought of him as just a polite boy. She then found out at he became popular with the girls after he beaten up the Perverted Duo after he caught them peeping on the Kendo team.

After the week past by, she started to become fond to him after learning about how much of a kind gentleman he was. When Tsubaki heard Rias talk about the previous incident at the church with Sona while she was accompanying her, she was awestruck at how passionate Issei was to protect his friends and any other innocent person, regardless of what faction they are. She even heard from a conversation before this on how Issei almost became a Hollow, and she was so grateful that it didn't happen.

"Anyway," Tsubaki was snapped out of her thoughts when he heard Issei start to speak. "Why don't we reintroduce ourselves, since we're all Devils here." He then bowed to the girls. "My name is Issei Hyoudou, and I am Lady Rias' Pawn."

The girls held surprised expressions when they now know that he is a Pawn. They knew that he was Rias' servant, but they had no idea he was _that_ piece because they witnessed his strength when he knocked out the man that still lays on the ground.

After Issei got up from his bow, Tsubaki decided to reintroduce herself first.

"Um, I'm Tsubaki Shinra, Queen of Lady Sona Sitri."

Issei widened his eyes a little in surprise at who her master was.

"Wait, by Sona Sitri… Do you mean..."

"Yup, she does," The girl with blue hair answered. "Souna Shitori's real name is indeed Sona Sitri. She just uses that name when she interacts with normal humans." She then made a puzzled look. "But how did you know we three, as well as Lady Sitri and possibly the other members of the student council are Devils?"

"Oh, I was able to tell you were all Devils early on by your reiatsu."

"Reiatsu?" The girl with brown hair asked with a confused expression.

Issei scratched the back of his head as he explained what he meant. "By reiatsu, I mean by reading their presence, power, and since I've trained myself with it well enough, tell what a being is."

The three girls now have amazed looks on their faces after he shared information about one of his abilities.

"Wow, that's a handy power you got," commented the blue-haired girl. She then placed a hand on her chest as she introduced herself next. "I'm Tsubasa Yura, Rook in service of Lady Sitri, but you may call me Tsubasa."

Issei bowed to her in response to her introduction. "Nice to met you too, Tsubasa-san."

The brown-haired girl was the last one to introduce herself as she bowed her head to him.

"Reya Kusaka, Bishop of Lady Sitri. It's nice to meet you."

After she got up from her bow, Issei bowed in return. "Of course, it's nice to meet you too, Kusaka-san."

With introductions out of the way, Issei looked towards the knocked out client and back at the girls.

"Well, I guess we better head back to our masters and report what happened here, yes?"

Tsubaki nodded to him in agreement. "Indeed. It was good to see you again, Hyoudou-kun, even though it's as Devils."

Issei nodded back and sent her a warm smile. "Yeah, it was good to see you too."

Tsubaki's cheeks have turned red once more thanks to his smile. Thankfully for her, nobody noticed the blush and was able to force it down in time.

'That smile...'

"Oh yeah, Hyoudou-kun," Issei's attention was now on Tsubasa as she called out to him. "I've heard you actually fought a Fallen Angel before you were reincarnated."

Issei widened his eyes a little when she mentioned his first battle with Rika when he was once human.

"Yeah, that's true. Though it wasn't that big of a battle though. Heh heh."

Tsubasa's smile grew wider. "And yet you were able to hold your own against her. You were even able to defeat her at the church. I must say, I'm really impressed."

Issei's eyes widened as a light shade of red appeared on his cheeks.

'How does she know about my battles with Rika?'

Nonetheless, He scratched the back of his head while smiling with his eyes closed.

"Thank you, you're too kind."

Issei didn't notice since his eyes were closed, but Tsubasa's cheeks turned bright red at his kind nature.

"Tsubasa!" Issei and Tsubasa jumped when they heard Tsubaki call to her. When they looked at her, she was slightly glaring at her with a light-red blush. "This isn't the time to flirt with Hyoudou-kun!"

Issei widened his eyes and blushed a dark shade of red after hearing her accusation.

Tsubasa's blush turned darker as she put her hands up in defense. "F-F-FukuKaichou, That's not what I was doing!"

"Now now, Yura-san," Reya interjected. "You have been talking nonstop about how manly he was during his battles."

"S-So what?" Tsubasa asked pointing her fingers together shyly. "I'm attracted to guys who get muddy and/or bruised up during a fight, okay?"

Issei's blush turned a darker red after hearing her confession on the type of guy she likes. He was even surprised that she was attracted to him because of his fights with the enemy. But Issei shook his head away from his thoughts and set his attention to the girls.

"A-Anyways, we should probably get going now. I wonder how Buchou will react when she finds out that the client wanted something like this?"

The girls nodded in agreement and were about to create teleportation circles beneath their feet to their master.

" **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

The girls' concentration stopped when they suddenly heard a monstrous howl coming from afar. Issei heard the roar too, but his eyes were wider than the girls' were.

'That howl sounded like some kind of monster!' Issei's eyes widened even further. 'And that deadly reiatsu, it's steadily increasing by the second!'

Issei continued to scout out the source of the Reiatsu to find out who it belonged to. Before he could question the girls if they could sense it. His head snapped to the right when he felt the exact same Reiatsu become stronger, and it's heading towards...

"Shinra-senpai!"

Issei ran towards Tsubaki and picked her up bridal style, catching her off guard. After he jumped out of the way of where she was previously standing, A monstrous arm punched through the wall of the room that the Devils were inside of, leaving a giant hole in it. The arm left the room, revealing the afternoon sky. The Devils were in shock at the sudden appearance of the creature, but what creature it was, they weren't sure about.

"Shinra-senpai, are you alright?" Issei asked her. Tsubaki was blushing like mad because of how he was carrying her. she was looking away from him, hoping he hasn't seen her blush.

"Y-Y-Yes, I'm fine, Hyoudou-kun."

" **Ah, it looks like we got ourselves some Devils."**

" **Yes, and they smell quite wonderful too~."**

" **Don't go hogging them for yourselves you two, I'm starving here!"**

The Devils Widened their eyes as they heard three creatures talking among each other. The first voice sounded calm male, the second voice sounded lustful, and the third one sounded crazed.

'Oh boy, this doesn't look good.' Issei said in his thoughts. 'There's two more of those creatures with the same Reiatsu as the one that destroyed that wall!'

After a few seconds have past, the three creatures have finally shown themselves.

"Shit! We've got Hollows!"

Issei widened his eyes in surprise when he heard Tsubasa exclaim what the three creatures were. And when he got a look at them for himself, his eyes widened even further to see the bone-white masks that the creatures were wearing, confirming their identity as Hollows.

The Hollow in the middle of the other two looked like some kind of giant purple frog with claws on his webbed feet. The mask even looked like the skull of the frog, except its teeth were more of a shark's.

The one to his left had a form of a large mutant bat-like creature with grey, puffy fur with claws on both of his hands. He had black talons for feet, and his mask looked like the skull of a bat with two large fangs in front of its human-like teeth.

The one on the Frog-Hollow's right looked like a demonic witch (kinda like the wizard in Destiny, but not quite). She has dagger-sized claws on each hand and was wearing a cobalt magician's cloak and a crooked queen's crown with purple boots. Her mask took on the shape of a skull with purple markings on the forehead. Its teeth were serrated and were as sharp as daggers.

All three of the Hollows currently have their glowing yellow eyes set on the Devils, who prepared themselves for any tricks the masked creatures have planned.

" **Ooooooohhhhh, look at them all!"** the bat-Hollow said while twitching. **"These Devils look and smell so Delicious!"**

" **Yes,"** agreed the witch-Hollow. **"Just the smell alone makes me feel hungry~."**

" **Now, now, you two,"** The frog-Hollow interjected. **"Let's not rush into things so quickly. They may have combat experience. But wait..."** The frog then sniffed a few times and set his eyes to Issei and Tsubaki. **"That strong smell… It's coming from that boy carrying that girl in his arms."**

Issei took this as a sign of danger and jumped back a few feet from the Hollows. He then set Tsubaki down gently next to him and placed his left arm towards himself with his fist aiming upwards.

"Boosted Gear!"

 _{Boost!}_

After he called forth his Sacred Gear, the girls looked at it with surprised expressions.

"H-H-Hyoudou-kun," Tsubaki stuttered. "Y-You're..."

Tsubaki was interrupted by psychotic laughter booming from the bat-Hollow.

" **Well lookie here! That left arm of this particular Devil looks like a dragon's! We got ourselves the most tastiest of the bunch!"**

" **Oh my,"** The witch-Hollow said. **"I've always wanted to know what a dragon tastes like. Fufufu~"**

" **Yes,"** agreed the frog-Hollow. **"It is indeed our lucky day."**

" **I get the first bite!"**

The bat Hollow spread his wings and lunged towards Issei, who was prepared for combat. But before either of them could make a move, a leather chair striked him in the stomach, making him fly back to the other two Hollows while holding his stomach in pain. Issei turned his head right to see that it was Tsubasa who threw the chair at the bat-Hollow.

"Sorry freak, but our friend here's not on the menu!"

"Hyoudou-hun!"

Issei turned to Tsubaki as he heard her call to him.

"We need to get out of here now! We won't be able to teleport back in time due to the amount of time it takes to create a teleportation circle, and we won't be able to take the Hollows out without causing more damage to the mansion!"

Issei nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's leg it!"

With that said, the Devils ran out of the room and began to make their way to the exit of the mansion.

" **GRRRAAAAHHH! We can't let our meals get away!"** The bat Hollow growled.

" **Calm yourself,"** The frog-Hollow said to him. **"They're simply leaving the house. I think it's quite obvious where we'll find them."**

" **Indeed,"** Agreed the witch-Hollow.

* * *

The four Devils have made it outside of the mansion. They weren't sure if they were currently chasing them right now, but they do know that they will catch up to them soon if they don't hurry.

"Come on," announced Tsubaki. "Let's get to our masters before they find us! It is imperative that they know that there are Hollows on the loose!"

"Right!" agreed the other three Devils.

Before anyone could do anything, the same three Hollows have suddenly appeared before them, catching the four off guard. They were currently surrounding the four Devils.

" **Going somewhere?"** The frog-Hollow asked.

"Damn!" Issei exclaimed. "They must've used their special speed to get to us!"

 _{Boost!}_

"Tsk!"

Tsubaki placed her left hand outwards and a blue magic circle appeared in the palm. Suddenly, what appeared to be a long red hilt started coming out of the circle. The object Tsubaki summoned became more clearer as she got it out. Issei had a look of amusement when he discovered that she was now wielding a naginata as her weapon.

"Looks like we don't have a choice but to fight here."

With that said, Tsubaki readied her naginata, Tsubasa cracked her knuckles, Reya summoned magic in the palms of her hands, and Issei boosted himself up with his Boosted Gear.

 _{Boost!}_

" **Oooooh! The Devils are going to try and fight us just to survive!"** The bat-Hollow announced. **"I always love a good challenge when it comes to hunting my prey!"**

" **Oh my, how cute it is that they're willing to put up a fight before getting eaten,"** The witch-Hollow commented. **"But, I think I'm gonna save the three female Devils for dessert."** She then set her eyes towards Issei, making him scowl at her and tighten his fists. **"Because you, You're the main course~."**

" **No, no, NO!"** Argued the bat-Hollow. **"I want to be the one who gets to eat the dragon boy!"**

" **Enough!"** The two Hollows jumped as they heard the frog-Hollow shout at them. **"We made an agreement to split the meal of our next findings. Even if this boy has the arm of a dragon, I will not allow either of you to hog _any_ of the Devils!"**

Issei growled at the Hollows and boosted himself up again.

 _{Boost!}_

Tsubaki got in front of Issei with her naginata ready for combat.

"Sh-Shinra-senpai?"

"Don't worry Hyoudou-kun," Tsubaki assured him. "We won't let any of them devour you." She then gripped the hilt of her naginata tightly. "Not while I'm around."

Issei couldn't help but make a puzzled face at the last part she said, but he brushed it off and got in a fighting stance.

"Thank you, Shinra-senpai. I appreciate it."

Tsubaki nodded in response to his thanks and positioned herself into a fighting stance.

" **GRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**

The bat-Hollow lunged at the Devils with his claws ready to tear them apart. He aimed his slash at Tsubaki, but she dodged the attack in time and slashed at his arm, wounding him.

'Damn! Missed the mask!'

" **GYYYYAAAAAAHHH! The bitch got me!"**

" **Well who's fault is that for charging at them like a brute?"** The frog-Hollow questioned the bat-Hollow with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

" **Oh, please! We're all Hollows!"** The bat-Hollow argued. **"Our hunger, especially _mine,_ has to be satisfied right away! And That Dragon boy is making me even _more_ hungry by the second!"**

" ***Sigh*, can we please get on with it you two?"** The witch-Hollow asked. **"We have them surrounded, let's use this to our advantage!"**

" **Yes,"** Agreed the frog as he prepared his claws. **"The sooner we kill them, the sooner we can eat them."**

The witch-Hollow summoned blackish-purple flames from the palm of each hand, ready to scorch them, as the bat-Hollow prepared his claws while growling and twitching. The four Devils were now sweating at the current situation they're in. They were especially wary of the witch-Hollow since she was capable of doing magic. But before anyone could make the first move…

BAM!

" **GYYAAAAAAHHHH!"**

The witch-Hollow was suddenly hit on the back of her head by a black aura with a thick crimson outlining. After she got hit by it, she fell on the ground face-first, giving the Devils an opening to escape. The frog-Hollow attempted to slash at them so they couldn't get away, but the Devils dodged the attack in time and got out of the Hollow's surrounding. As they made it away from the Hollows. They stopped and looked to see people that they are familiar with.

"Ise!"

"B-Buchou."

Before Issei could say anything else, he was trapped in a hug by Rias, the woman who blasted the witch-Hollow.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" Rias said to Issei. "I was so worried when I found out that three Hollows were on the loose!"

Issei looked behind Rias to see that the rest of the ORC gang is here. Akeno had her lightning ready to zap any of the Hollows that try to eat their comrades, Kiba had his Holy eraser, and Koneko was cracking her knuckles while glaring at the Hollows.

"Issei-san," Issei heard the sweet voice of Asia call to him. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Issei gave Asia an assuring smile as Rias lets him go from the hug. "It's okay, Asia. I'm not hurt."

Asia sighed a breath of relief after getting confirmation of Issei's condition.

"Well, we got ourselves quite the conundrum, don't we?"

Issei turned around when he heard a new voice. He was surprised to see that it was Sona with the rest of the student council accompanying her.

One member was a first year student with green eyes brown hair tied in long twin ponytails. She wore a pair of green clips in her hair and striped green stockings.

The rest of the council members with Sona were second years. One was a girl with snow-white hair and blue-green eyes. The girl next to her had shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. Her hair featured swept bangs and a single strand of hair sticking out from the top.

Lastly, there was a second year boy had short blonde hair and grey eyes. He wasn't wearing his blazer along with his school uniform and had his shirt's sleeves pulled up.

"Ise," Issei's attention was now on Rias. "Just what happened at the client's home before you four were attacked by the Hollows?"

Issei looked at her with an annoyed expression. Not at her, but with the client's request. "Long story short Buchou, That pervert in there wanted a foursome with you and the other three Devils who were with me."

"What?" Rias now had a disgusted expression, as well as Tsubaki, Tsubasa, and Reya, who understood her reaction.

"Good thing Hyoudou-kun put that bastard's lights out before he could try anything to us," Tsubasa said with a smile. "I can't believe he expected us to be some kind of prostitutes!"

"Rias, I'm quite disappointed in you," Issei then turned to see that it was the blonde-haired man who was talking to Rias. "I can't believe you've sent your boyfriend out to do a contract that involves sexual activity. This is making me wonder if he's-"

"Saji!" The now-named blonde-haired man jumped when he heard Sona scold him. "It's quite obvious that they had no idea that her client wanted something this perverted. Don't make conclusions about certain things that happened during the problem, especially the relationships between others."

Saji winced a little at her scolding, but nodded his head to her. "R-Right. My apologies."

Issei sweat dropped at this while deadpanning. 'I assume he's the most arrogant of the group.'

" **Dammit!"** The frog-Hollow cursed out. **"We've got more Devils here to rescue the four we found!"**

" **I personally don't have the problem with it,"** The bat-Hollow said while twitching. **"To me, this means we have more to eat! Besides one of them has _this,_ and _that_!"**

The bat-Hollow was staring at Rias with a perverted gaze behind his mask, but Rias shrugged it off and looked at Issei.

"Ise."

Issei turned his head to Rias. "Yes?"

"I believe it's time that I tell you what Hollows are."

Issei nodded to her in response to her question. "Of course. Tell me what I need to know."

Rias then began to explain to Issei about the Hollows.

"You see, Hollows are abandoned souls that haven't been properly laid to rest."

Issei held an interested expression on the clarification of the Hollows in his world. "Really?"

"Yes," answered Rias. "If the souls of the deceased aren't properly laid to rest within twenty-four hours, those souls will become the creatures that eat our kind, the other two factions, and humans in order to satisfy their lust for hunger."

Issei nodded to himself at the information. He then asks one more question.

"But is there a way to save those souls that have become 'abandoned?'"

"There is." This time, it was Akeno who took over giving Issei the details of the Hollows. "If we defeat them by destroying their masks, their souls will finally be put to rest. However, if that soul has done bad before becoming a Hollow, they are to be punished for their wicked deeds in the lowest depths of the Underworld."

Issei nodded as he gathered the information given to him by Rias and Akeno.

" **Well, what are we waiting for?"** the witch-Hollow said to the other two Hollows. **"Let's get killing! I especially want to tear apart the bitch who hit me with her magic!"**

" **You do that,"** the Bat-Hollow said to her. **"I'm gonna get me a taste of that dragon boy over there!"**

The bat-Hollow then charged towards Issei with the mouth of his mask open, ready to bite him. Before he could get any closer, a bunch of swords came from the ground via a magic circle and pierced the Hollows stomach. He then flew back to his fellow Hollows while clutching his stomach in pain.

Issei turned around to to find the source of who summoned all of those swords on the ground. He was surprised to see that it was Kiba who unleashed it with his Holy eraser. Kiba noticed his surprised look and smiled to him.

"Oh yeah, I never told you the details of my Sacred Gear. You see, I have more swords in my arsenal thanks to it. My Sacred Gear allows me to create any sword I want. And I can summon as much swords with different abilities as I want as well."

"Damn!" Issei was amazed that Kiba had such a Sacred Gear.

"My Sacred Gear's name is Sword Birth," Kiba continued. "And with it, I create swords, demonic swords."

Issei whistled in astonishment at his last sentence. 'A Sacred Gear that can create an unlimited amount of swords of any kind. That's really something.'

" **This is taking too long,"** The frog-Hollow said impatiently. **"Let's just get on with killing them all so we can appease our hunger."**

" **Yes,"** Agreed the witch-Hollow. **"Standing around listening to those Devils talk to one another isn't getting us anywhere."**

The Devils, minus Asia, prepared for battle against the Hollows.

"Ise! Get out of here, now!" Rias instructed.

"What?"

"Please, Ise! You're not strong enough to fight them yet! This is completely different from your previous battles! You will be fatally wounded just by their bite, and I don't think Asia-chan's Twilight Healing will take care of it in a rapid pace because of it!"

Issei widened his eyes at Rias' reasoning fro him to leave them.

"But… Buchou-"

"No buts!" retorted Rias. "If you're worried about us, then don't! We've fought Hollows before. So please, get out of here and take Asia-chan with you!"

Issei was conflicted. In his thoughts. While he doesn't doubt her strength since she found out about her reputation, he doesn't want her and his comrades hurt just for his own sake. He knows that Rias will protect him and Asia no matter what, but deep down, it just feels cruel to him just to leave the Hollows that were after _him_ to the others.

Having made up his mind, Issei grabbed onto the hilt of a sword that looked like a crooked katana blade and pulled it out from the ground. He then set his glare at the three Hollows.

"Oi! Hollow scum!"

The three Hollows now had their sights on Issei, who had a determined look on his face.

"One of you said I was the main course, correct?!" He then pointed his thumb at himself. "If so, then ignore them, and come and get me, you masked freaks!"

"Ise, No!"

Rias tried to call to him, but it was too late. Issei turned around and immediately took off away from his fellow Devils and the Hollows and took the crooked katana with him.

The bat-Hollow laughed in excitement. **"Now that's an offer I can't refuse! FREE FOOD ALL THE WAY!"**

He then opened up his wings and took flight towards where Issei has ran off to.

" **Hey! You're not hogging that Dragon boy all to yourself!"** The witch-Hollow took flight after the bat-Hollow.

" **Hold it, you two!"** Lastly, the frog-Hollow hopped towards the two Hollows giving chase to Issei. Issei and the three Hollows were now out of the other Devils' sight.

Rias' heart was now beating rapidly in her chest. Her Pawn has just offered the Hollows to try and eat him if they can, making them chase him in the progress. Her body started to shake in fear of the possibility that her favorite servant will be brutally mauled by the Hollows.

"Buchou, if we don't find Issei-kun soon, the Hollows will tear him apart!"

"You think I don't know that, Akeno?!" Rias snapped at her Queen, tears threatening to leave her eyes. "I just don't understand! Why would Ise risk his life like that?!"

"He might've held himself responsible for the Hollows encountering us."

The Gremory team turned their heads to see Tsubaki looking at Rias.

"I was there with him when the Hollows attacked me, Reya, Tsubasa, and Hyoudou-kun. They indeed did say that he'd be the main course for eating us. I believe it was because of the aura of a dragon that came from his Boosted Gear. Because of this, the scent to them was much more delicious to them then me, Reya, and Tsubasa combined."

Tsubaki paused for a moment and then looked in the direction where Issei ran off to. Her eyes then softened.

"Maybe it's because of the Hollows' obsession with Hyoudou-kun's scent, that made him hold himself responsible for attracting them to us. And he decided to take it upon himself to correct that 'mistake' he believes he's made."

"Heh, the newbie's a daredevil, I'll give him that," commented Saji, only to have Tsubaki and Tsubasa give him a light glare without anyone noticing.

Rias eyes have now softened at Tsubaki's explanation. Issei blames himself for attracting the Hollows to him and the other three Devils. But Rias, Tsubaki, and the Gremory team don't think it was his fault at all. There can be plenty of unexpected occurrences that could happen. He shouldn't blame himself for something he had no idea could happen because of something he couldn't yet control.

"Come on guys," Rias announced to her servants. "We have to find Ise before those Hollows get to him first!"

"Right!" Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Asia said in unison.

" **What do we have here?"**

The Gremory and Sitri Devils widened their eyes when they heard a deadly voice from behind them. When they turned around to find the source, they widened their eyes even further.

"Oh shit! More Hollows!" Saji exclaimed.

There were two Hollows in front of the Devils, and they were almost larger than the mansion. The first one looked like a juggernaut with blackish-gray skin. His mask was a wide horizontal oval shape with crimson fiery markings decorating it and human-like teeth. The Hollow next to him was a giant black cobra with violet stripes decorated on her body. Her mask is the same as a cobra's with serated reptilian teeth and fangs the size of daggers.

" **How shall we devour them?"** The cobra-Hollow asked the Hollow juggernaut. **"Shall I squeeze them all until their eyes and brains pop out of their skull and we split the amount, or shall you grind them into soup with your strength and we'll slurp them all up?"**

" **Either will work just fine,"** answered the Hollow juggernaut. **"As long as we have something to eat, that's all that matters to me."**

Before anyone could do anything, the cobra-Hollow Used her body to surround all of the Devils by slithering around them.

" **I've got a better Idea,"** The cobra-Hollow said. **"Just in case they try to escape, I'll use my body as a ring and make it a battlefield for our Devils, making fighting them more fun for the both of us!"**

" **Ah, Yes,"** The Hollow juggernaut agreed. **"This would indeed make it more fun!"**

The Devils, minus Asia, who was shuddering in fear, glared at the Hollows who trapped them. Rias was now more scared than ever for her Pawn's safety.

"I don't have time for this!" She exclaimed. "We have to get to Ise fast!"

"I wouldn't count him out just yet, Buchou."

Rias turned to Kiba as he was the one who told her this.

"But Kiba, these are _Hollows_ we're talking about here!"

"While I understand the type of enemy Issei is being chased by, I wouldn't underestimate him."

Rias made a puzzled expression. This allowed Kiba to continue.

"Trust me, Buchou. Don't you remember the time where Koneko and I reported to you that he took out thirty of the fifty stray exorcists that accompanied?"

Rias widened her eyes as she began to remember what he was talking about. After Issei left to go home, Kiba and Koneko telling them about fighting the stray exorcists before battling it out with Rika. What surprised her the most was that he was able to dodge all of their attacks, from slashes of their holy swords, to bullets. Rias was amazed with her Pawn's performance, and Akeno was turned on, for obvious reasons.

This information Kiba told Rias got Tsubasa even more amazed with Issei, while the rest of the council, except for Sona and Tsubaki since they know about it from Sona and Rias' talks, had surprised looks.

While Rias did remember their report, she was still in doubt about his situation with the other three Hollows.

"I know, but still..."

"Don't worry, Buchou," Kiba assured her. "I'm sure Issei will make it out alright. Not only does he have the Boosted Gear, but he also armed himself with one of my demonic swords before he took off."

"I'm sure he has something up his sleeve against those masked freaks." Koneko added.

Rias was in deep thought about her servants' words. She then nodded to the two.

"If you two think that Ise can survive, then I'll have that same belief as well."

Kiba and Koneko nodded back to their master, with Akeno smiling in hope.

"Look alive everyone!"

The group heard Sona announce this to her own servants and the Gremory team as the two Hollows were getting ready to attack. Rias and Sona conjured up their aura and magic, Tsubaki and Kiba gripped the hilt of their blades tightly and got into their fighting stances, The reddish-brown-haired girl summoned a basic katana sword from a magic circle and readied herself along with Kiba and Tsubaki, Reya and the white-haired girl conjured up their magic, Koneko and Tsubasa cracked their knuckles, and the ponytailed girl and Saji got in their fighting stances.

With a look of determination, they were prepared to fight the cobra-Hollow and the Hollow juggernaut, in hopes to defeat them and rescue Issei once they're through with them.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Hello again folks! Long time no see, eh? I deeply apologize for my absence in writing. You see, not only was I preparing for tests and quizzes back then a couple of weeks ago, I also watched tutorial videos on animation, and rarely, some drawing tutorials, because I have multiple hobbies I like to do.**_

 _ **Also, as you may have noticed from how the bold text in the center that transitions the scenes, and the "To be continued" line being on the right side, I made an upgrade from WordPad to LibreOffice. Now that I have this replacement, I'll know which words are misspelled by the red underlines on the words, since I type really fast sometimes. Only problem I'm having is creating those horizontal lines used for scene transitions. I had to use fanfiction's editor to add them in because I wasn't sure about how to do so in LibreOffice. I'm aware there's a feature on there where you can insert a horizontal line on the odt doc, but I wasn't so sure about doing it there, since it's my first time using LibreOffice.**_

 _ **Anyway, As how the chapter ended, I created what I'm dubbing a custom arc for this FanFic for Issei to learn how the Hollows in this fic work. In the next chapter, I'll be revealing another ability Issei will have and discover during the next chapter that he'll get use to using in a matter of minutes. I'll give you a hint: it's a move from the Bleach Series. Doing this custom arc is going to be a little tough for me, because not only do I have to write how Issei will discover this new move of his, but I'll have to know the abilities of The Sitri Devils as well, Like Tsubaki's Mirror Alice, and Saji's absorption line for example.**_

 _ **Yup, I gave Issei's mother a name: Yuki. As for the father's name, I have yet to come up with a good one. Also, for Issei not getting his head "Zapped" for saying "Lord", Issei's reason is that he's not talking about the biblical Lord. As for the actual reason, well… umm… NO SPOILERS FOR YOU!**_

 _ **On a side note, I have yet to work on at least the first chapter of my second fic: "DXD: My little bro's a Shinigami?!". I have yet to find an official title for this one. Also, as of this post, The first nine weeks for my school are done, allowing me to work on my FanFics more often than usual. I'm also off of school this Monday and this Tuesday due to Teacher work day on Monday, and an election that's happening on Tuesday. I'll try my best to finish the Devil vs Hollow arc. Keep in mind there are other hobbies I like to do that can distract me from writing.**_

 _ **Also (I use that word a lot, I know XD) As of this post, "The Masked Dragon Emperor" has reached 163 Favorites and 201 Followers! I can't thank you folks enough for this, and it warms my heart that people actually enjoy this Fic despite how average my writing is.**_

 _ **Oh, by the way, thought I'd mention this, the segment that's used for the end of some chapters: "OVA Epilogue Time!" Is just a silly name not only for the OVAs, but for Omakes as well. "Omake Epilogue Time!" Sounded much sillier, and "OVA Epilogue Time!" sounded much catchier, so I decided to use that title.**_

 _ **Next chapter: "Clash! Devils vs Hollows!"; The Gremory and Sitri Devils have to defeat the cobra-Hollow and the Hollow juggernaut, while Issei has to deal with the other three Hollows: the frog, the bat, and the witch.**_

 _ **Issei's current harem: Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Aika, Murayama.**_

 _ **Until next time folks!**_


	8. Chapter 7: Clash! Devils vs Hollows!

_**Before we begin:**_

"Talking"

'thinking'

 **{Ddraig talking from Boosted Gear and in Issei's dream world}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement}_

" **Hollows talking"**

' **Hollows thinking'**

 _ **Right, moving on!**_

Chapter 7: Clash! Devils vs Hollows!

* * *

Issei was running as fast as he can from the Hollows pursuing him. He had his Boosted gear out and was gripping the hilt of the crooked katana he got from the swords summoned by Kiba in his right hand. He hoped to run as far away from his group as possible so that it's only him and the Hollows. He kept running and running until he found an alleyway in the corner of his right eye. He dashed towards it and found a spot to hide in so he can catch his breath and be ready to fight the Hollows head on. After he made it in the alleyway, he caught his breath from all of the running he's been doing and held his sword in both hands, ready for the Hollows to show up at any moment.

 _ **{That was quite clumsy of you, partner.}**_

Issei widened his eyes a little as he heard the voice of Ddraig in his mind.

'What do you mean by that, Ddraig?'

 _ **{Isn't it obvious? You've literally offered yourself to the Hollows.}**_

'Well, I couldn't help it, Ddraig. I just didn't want them to clean up after my mess, if you know what I mean.'

Ddraig sighed at his reasons.

 _ **{Look, while I commend you for wanting to take this situation in your own hands, you can't always handle everything on your own, especially with your current power. There are times where unexpected things can occur because of something that can't be controlled, like how your scent attracted the Hollows to you without you even realizing.}**_

Issei had a surprised expression at Ddraig's words. He was right. It wasn't _really_ his fault that the Hollows attacked him and the other Devils just because of the uncontrollable scent that the Hollows can pick up. He's even done what was his opinion a cliché where he has to carry everything on his own shoulders without anyone else's help. Not even his master's. After putting much thought into his previous actions, Issei gripped the hilt of his crooked katana and smirked to himself.

'Well, there's no turning back now.'

 _ **{Hmm?}**_ Ddraig was confused at Issei's sudden words.

'You're right about one thing, Ddraig: I was an idiot to think I can take on those Hollows all by myself, but I'm going to remain being that kind of idiot for now. Just because I've used myself as bait for the Hollows, it doesn't mean this is the day I'm going to die. If I can survive a battle between a Fallen Angel, then I should be able to hang in there against those masked freaks!'

 _ **{Ha ha ha ha! That's quite the resolve you have! Because of that, I'll gladly support you on your battle against the Hollows that were chasing you.}**_

Issei smiled warmly at the Welsh Dragon sealed in the Boosted Gear's support.

'Thanks, Ddraig. I appreciate it.'

 _ **{Oh yeah, before you do anything else, I want to tell you about another ability that the Boosted Gear, and other Sacred Gears have that you can perform in the future.}**_

This caught Issei's interest.

'Oh? And what is this "ability" they have?'

 _ **{Balance Breaker.}**_

Issei raised an eyebrow.

'Balance Breaker?'

 _ **{It's a special ability that each Sacred Gear has that was once considered a forbidden move by the three Factions. I should know because of my previous hosts using The Boosted Gear's Balance Breaker before. It's the most powerful manifestation of all Sacred Gears in which The Sacred Gears' hosts' feelings trigger the evolution.}**_

Issei nodded at the information.

'I assume each Balance Breaker has a name of their own as well?'

 _ **{You are correct. Your Sacred Gear, the one I'm sealed inside of's Balance Breaker is called "Scale Mail". This Balance Breaker covers you up in a red armor that embodies you with my power.}**_

Issei whistled at the information of the Boosted Gear's Balance Breaker.

'That sounds pretty badass. Is there a way for me to unlock this power? Other than to use my emotions of course.'

 _ **{Unfortunately, you are not strong enough to use Scale Mail yet. But if you really want to use that power, It'll come at the sacrifice of some of your life force due to how strong my power is. While you will still be able to use Scale Mail, it'll only be at an incomplete state.}**_

Issei frowned when he heard of the price to get early access to his Balance Breaker.

 _ **{However,}**_ Issei stopped in his thoughts as he heard Ddraig continue to speak in his head. **_{If you don't wish to use up your life force to obtain said power for a temporary amount of time, another option is to make a different sacrifice that isn't your life force.}_**

'Like?'

 _ **{A body part of yours will work. But, while that will give you access to Scale Mail, not only will it be an incomplete state, you'll have a very short amount of time to use it. You can sacrifice an arm or a leg, and it'll work to obtain the incomplete Balance Breaker. Keep in mind that once you sacrifice said body part or more, it will remain a dragon part for the rest of your life.}**_

Issei took some time to think about what Ddraig has talked about. After fifteen seconds of thinking, he looked down at his Boosted Gear with a serious expression.

'I think I'll put that idea on hold for now. I don't think I'll need that amount of power to defeat the Hollows anyway. I'll fight with the current strength I have.'

 _ **{Very well. But do remember that if you still haven't the strength to achieve Balance Breaker, the offer still remains.}**_

" **There he is!"**

Issei jumped while widening his eyes as he heard a familiar psychotic voice. He looked up to see that it was the three Hollows that were chasing after him: The frog, the bat, and the witch.

" **No more running, sweetheart,"** The witch-Hollow said with lust in her voice. **"It's time that you've meet your end."**

"Hmph! I don't think so!"

 _{Boost!}_

Issei got into a fighting position with his sword after boosting himself up.

* * *

[Intro song: Bleach: Brave souls opening.]

* * *

" **YOU'RE MIIIIIIIIIINNNNNEEEE!"**

Issei saw the bat-Hollow charging at him with his talons and claws ready. As the Hollow was about to strike, Issei dodged to the left, allowing the Hollow to crash into the wall behind him. Issei then suddenly got hit in the left shoulder by a blackish purple flame. Issei saw how quickly the flame was burning off the fabric of his school shirt. He then started feeling an unbearable pain in his shoulder, making him roar in said pain. He pulled off the sleeve of his shirt and threw it on the ground, with the flame still attached to the sleeve, burning it into nothingness. Issei then widened his eyes in shock as he noticed that there was now a mild burn mark on his naked shoulder.

" **How do you like my flames, dear?"** Issei shot his head to the direction of the witch-Hollow and his expression morphed into even more shock as he saw that the same colored flames were conjured in the palm of her clawed hand.

" **These flames are very special to me. They'll burn up any object and any part of the body it touches in a matter of seconds. You were lucky to have removed a piece of your clothing before the flames could burn you any further, otherwise, you could kiss that shoulder, and possibly your juicy arm goodbye!"**

Issei growled at the witch-Hollow and boosted himself up with his Boosted Gear again, gripping his sword tightly in his hands. Suddenly, he felt his left leg get caught by something slimy. Before he could look down to see what it was, he was suddenly lifted up in the air with incredible strength by what appeared to be a tongue. Issei kept his grip on his sword as he was lifted by the tongue. He then followed it to see that it was the frog-Hollow who picked him up with his own tongue. He struggled to get his leg free from his tongue by prying it out with his gauntlet covered hand, being unable to reach it with his crooked blade, but he couldn't get it out due to how strong it was.

" **It's no use, kid,"** The frog-Hollow said to Issei. **"My tongue is the strongest part of my body to ever be used on my prey. Not even your sword, even if you could reach it since your hanging on by one leg, can't take it off of you."**

Issei then heard the sound of insane laughter from the bat-Hollow, who was twitching in delight.

" **Finally! We can fill our bellies up with this Dragon-Devil Boy! I call for the arm, since it's the source of all of that dragon power!"**

" **Not so fast!"** the frog-Hollow argued. **"I'm the one who captured him, so I get to take the first bite, especially on which body part of his!"**

" **Now, now, boys,"** The two Hollows and Issei looked to see the witch-Hollow with two of her flames in one palm of her hand each. **"How about I roast the Devil up before we devour him together?"**

" **HA HA HA HA HA! Yes! That's a brilliant idea!"** the bat hollow agreed as his twitching got more violent. **"I love the smell and taste of burning prey in the morning!"**

" **It's currently the afternoon, stupid,"** the frog-Hollow corrected.

" **Whatever!"**

The frog-Hollow then held Issei's leg tightly and steadily for the witch-Hollow so she could burn him alive with her flames. Issei continued to struggle to get his leg out from the frog-Hollow's tongue by gripping onto it with his left hand and pry it out. Unfortunately, the grip of the creature's tongue is so tight he failed to get loose from it. He can't even reach the tongue with his sword to cut it off due to how crooked the blade was. The Hollows were laughing at his struggles to get free and how many times he's failed to escape from the tongue.

Suddenly, something inside of Issei snapped. The evil laughter of the Hollows have begun to irritate him greatly. As his anger continued to grow, he failed to notice that a familiar black and white aura started radiating from his body like a smoking chimney. The Hollows took notice of the aura and widened their eyes at it.

" **Wha… What is that?!"** The witch-Hollow asked with shock in her voice. She immediately launched her flames at Issei before things could get out of hand.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Issei defied gravity with his single swing with his body to be at level with the tongue and…

SLICE! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

" **GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGGHHHHH! MY TONGUE!"**

The other two Hollows widened their eyes further as they witnessed Issei cutting off the frog-Hollow's tongue with one strike of his sword after swinging himself up to it with such incredible strength. Blood spurted out of the severed tongue like a hose that's been left on. Issei then noticed the black-purple flames approaching him and tried however he can to dodge them due to being suspended. After a few seconds of struggling, he widened his eyes in total surprise as he suddenly found himself on the ground, standing.

BAP! BAP!

" **GRRRRAAAAAAUUUGGGHHH!"**

Issei immediately turned around to see that the frog-Hollow has been hit in the face, by two of the black-purple flames that were meant for _him._ He then witnessed the flames burning away at his mask, killing him in the process. As the frog-Hollow was screaming in pain, his body started to disperse in black particles. Those particles then turned sky-blue as they traveled upwards into the air and were gone without a trace.

" **Oops..."** The witch-Hollow sweat dropped at what just happened.

" **Nice job, woman,"** The bat Hollow said to her with sarcasm in his voice. **"You killed off Froggy."**

" **I didn't mean to!"** The witch-Hollow defended. **"It was meant for the Dragon-Devil!"**

" **Hey, I'm not blaming you, toots. That guy was a bossy prick anyway."**

While the two Hollows were bickering with one another, Issei was looking at himself with a puzzled expression and wide eyes.

'How the Hell did I do that? I wasn't even promoted to a Knight. Hell, I never got permission from Buchou to promote yet.'

Issei's eyes then widened further as he remembered his previous fight with the stray exorcists.

'That's right! I was able to approach one of those stray exorcists with the same speed, except that time, I was promoted to a Rook, which was supposed to be a Tank-piece.'

Issei then placed a hand on his chin with a calculating look at the remaining two Hollows.

'Hmm… I wonder...'

" **Now you just stand back, toots,"** Issei was snapped out of his thoughts as the bat-Hollow readied himself to lunge at Issei again. **"As I show you how to _properly_ catch a prey!"**

Issei saw the Hollow charge at him once more and decided to test what just happened. He concentrated as hard as he could on the power that happened to him when he dodged the flames as the bat-Hollow was getting closer to him. As the Hollow was about to strike, Issei suddenly disappeared from his sight causing him to have a puzzled expression with the mouth of his mask opening in shock.

" **Wh-Wh-WHAT?! He was _right there_!"**

The Hollows then turned around and widened their eyes further in utter shock as they saw that Issei was now behind them. Issei himself was even more surprised at how fast he moved to dodge the bat-Hollow's slash. All he did was concentrate his power, and suddenly, he dodged at such high speed. After thinking about how he did it for a few moments, he smirked to himself and looked at the Hollows with a now confident expression.

" **Don't think this will give you the upper hand in your survival, boy!"**

The witch-Hollow blasted more of her flames at Issei's direction, only for Issei to dodge them with the same speed he used to evade the bat-Hollow's attack. She continued to blast more of her flames at him, only for him to dodge them again, and again, and again. Growling in frustration, the witch-Hollow placed both palms of her hands near each other as she started to conjure up a large ball of flame. She aimed it in hopes to finally burn Issei to a crisp and finally feed on his flesh and soul. But, to her dismay, Issei dodged it again with the same speed as the previous attacks, but felt something hit his left leg in the process. After dodging, he widened his eyes as he saw some of her flames finally touch him again, burning the fabric of his left pant leg in a rapid pace. Before it could reach his skin, He reached for the part of the pant leg without touching the flames, and tore it off, leaving it to burn on the ground. Issei's left leg was now exposed up to his upper knee. He then clutched his head as he started to feel a little dizzy.

'Phew, this is going to take some time for me to get use to using Shunpo.'

 _ **{Shunpo?}**_

Issei chuckled a little at Ddriag's confused tone.

'It's basically a "Flash-Step" of some kind. With it, I won't need to promote to a Knight piece to dodge and maneuver at high speeds. I came up with the name myself.'

Issei then smiled to himself

'And I'm just glad I was able to figure out how to get some control over that new ability.'

 _ **{Just be careful with how you use this "Shunpo", partner. You might run into a wall or something like that.}**_

'Thanks for the reminder, Ddraig.'

 _{Boost!}_

Issei looked at the remaining Hollows in front of him and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Alright! Let's rock this!"

* * *

The Gremory and Sitri Devils were currently holding their own against the Hollow juggernaut and the giant cobra-Hollow. Unfortunately, the battle wasn't going as quickly as Rias and Sona wanted it to go. With the cobra-Hollow surrounding them with its body so they won't escape while attempting to bite at them, and the Hollow juggernaut getting in on trying to injure them, it proved to be more difficult then they thought it would be.

" **HA HA HA! It's no use!"** the cobra-Hollow intimidated. **"Thanks to the speed of my strikes, along with my friend's help, you Devils will have no choice but to become our meal!"**

"Your speed, huh?" Sona questions with a smirk. "Saji!"

"Right, I'm on it!" Saji then extended his left arm forward with his left hand open. "Absorption Line!"

After saying this command, his hand started to glow a pink-purple light and take on a form of a small lizard around his hand. After a few seconds of the light glowing, it manifested into a small black bracer that looks like a small black chameleon-like lizard with dark yellow accents, two violet gems that represent its eyes, and a deformed face.

The cobra-Hollow laughed hard at the black artificial lizard wrapped around Saji's hand.

" **How comical! What do you hope to do with a metallic lizard as your weapon?!"**

Saji only smirked at the Hollow.

"Don't judge something by the cover, punk!"

Saji then made a punching motion with his left arm. As he did that, the lizard's mouth has opened and ejected a glowing pale-blue line towards the cobra-Hollow. The line then wrapped around the Hollow's neck tightly as it made it to its target.

" **HA! You'll have to do better to restrain me than that, boy!"**

Saji didn't reply. He only smirked at her. The Hollow didn't know what the smirk was about until she started to feel weakened.

" **Wha? Why am I feeling weak all of the sudden?!"**

"Heh! I'm sucking out your power, you damn cobra!" Saji answered while smirking. "Now you won't be a bother to us, at least for a while."

" **You damn Devil!"**

The cobra-Hollow tried to bite at Saji, but she wasn't fast enough to get him as her movement has slowed down, allowing Saji to easily dodge to the side and pull on the pale-blue line to restrain the Hollow.

"Mister! Be careful!"

Saji turned his head to see Asia worried about him. He only smirked confidently at her.

"Don't worry, Miss, I can handle this. I'll make sure this giant snake doesn't swallow someone as cute as you."

Asia widened her eyes a little when she saw him wink at her after saying the last sentence.

"O-Okay."

Saji didn't notice since he was too busy restraining the cobra-Hollow, but he was getting pouty stares from the white-haired and pony-tailed girls.

"Reya, Momo, Help Saji restrain the Hollow he's trapped with the Absorption Line!"

"Yes ma'am!" Reya and the now-named white-haired girl summoned their bat wings and flew to Saji and use their magic to further restrain the cobra-Hollow.

"Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Tomoe, Ruruko, aid the others in defeating the other Hollow!"

"Right!" Tsubaki, Tsubasa, and the now-named girls go to Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno, who are doing everything they can to kill the Hollow juggernaut.

"I must say Sona, your Pawn's got quite the handy Sacred Gear."

Sona smirked at Rias' compliment as she adjusted her red glasses.

"It's called Absorption line. It allows Saji to not only restrain the enemy, but to suck out power out of them from the blue line."

Rias returned a smirk to Sona as the two Kings conjure up their magic to aid the other Devil's. While Rias' magic was her power of destruction, Sona's magic was water-based.

"That's good to know," Rias said to her childhood friend. "This'll make the future Rating Game between us quite interesting."

"Hmph. I'll try my best not to disappoint you when that time comes. After all, he's still got a long way to go."

After gathering their magic, they fire it at the Hollow juggernaut, who was distracted by Kiba, Koneko, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Tomoe, and Ruruko. Their magic successfully hit the Hollow, but they missed his mask as they landed on his stomach. The Hollow recovered from the attack and sets his glare at the two responsible for hurting him.

" **Why you..."**

Before he could finish speaking, he was tripped by Koneko's sweep kick. Before the Hollow juggernaut's face hit the ground, Koneko delivered a swift punch at his mask, knocking him back against the cobra-Hollow's body that was still surrounding the Devils. It took the juggernaut a few seconds to get up from the attack while holding the area Koneko punched. While his mask did crack from the punch, it wasn't strong enough to kill him.

Tsubaki and Kiba look at each other and nod. They then set their attention to the Hollow juggernaut as they rushed forward towards him with their blades ready.

The Hollow juggernaut scoffed at this.

" **Oh please! What can you sword-wielding Devils do to me?"**

Suddenly, Tsubaki and Kiba disappeared from his sight thanks to their Knight trait. The two Devils then appeared from behind him, making the Hollow juggernaut widen his eyes when he felt their presence. Before he could to anything to them, Tsubaki swung her naginata at his legs, cutting them off in the process. The Hollow juggernaut began to fall on his back as blood spurts from his severed legs.

" **GRRRAAAAHHHH! You bastards!"**

"Now, Kiba-kun!"

Kiba nodded as he gripped his sword in both hands as he aimed his Holy Eraser's blade towards the ground.

"Sword Birth! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Before the blade could pierce the ground, the Hollow Juggernaut balled his hand into a fist and slammed it on the ground, creating a crater from the fist. Due to its strength, Saji was blown back by the wind and tumbled backwards, accidentally making his Absorption line disconnect from the cobra-Hollow's neck.

Just as Kiba stabbed the ground with his Holy Eraser, The cobra-Hollow has regained her strength and used it to headbutt the shields created by Reya and Momo. Her attack also caused the two to be knocked back by the attack.

Right after the Hollow juggernaut performed his attack, his head was impaled by the swords of many different shapes and sizes summoned by Kiba's Sacred Gear. The Hollow's body began to disperse in black particles that eventually turn sky-blue. The particles then flew up towards the sky and disappeared afterwards.

Tsubaki and Kiba were panting as they, along with the rest of the Devils watched the soul finally rest in peace.

"Phew!" Saji said as he rubbed his bleeding forehead. "One down, one to go!"

"Mister, you're bleeding!"

Saji turned his head left to see Asia approaching him with Twilight Healing ready. As she made it to him, she began to heal his bleeding forehead, along with other minor injuries caused by Hollow juggernauts attack. This made Saji's cheeks tinge a light-pink.

"Thanks for that. By the way, name's Saji Genshiro, but you may call me Saji."

"You're welcome, Saji-san. And my name's Asia Argento, but it's alright for you to call me Asia."

Saji chuckled at Asia's kind nature. Unbeknownst to them, Momo and Ruruko gave Asia a light glare while slightly pouting at her.

" **Ara, that's quite the sacrifice my friend made."**

The Devils quickly turned to see that the cobra-Hollow has recovered from her restraints.

" **The best part about it is that I get to have you Devils all to myself~."**

Asia began to shudder as the cobra-Hollow had her eyes set at her. Asia then became surprised to see Saji step in front of her with a serious expression on his face.

"Don't worry, Asia-chan. I won't let that freak sink its teeth into you. You've helped me, now it's my turn to do the same for you!"

Asia widened her eyes at Saji's brave words, but Momo and Ruruko sent him a pout in his direction, without him or Asia noticing.

"Momo! Ruruko! Stay focused on the situation in hand!"

The two girls jumped when they heard Sona call to them and immediately set their attention on the cobra-Hollow.

"Alright, let's do this!"

"Saji, wait!"

Sona called to Saji to get him to stop what he was going to do, but it was too late. He attempted to attached his Absorption Line on the Hollow in hopes to restrain her again. Unfortunately, for him, the Hollow dodged the line and went straight towards him with her mouth of the mask open, ready to bite into him. Before she could bite him, Saji and Asia were pulled out of the way by Tomoe. Thanks to her Knight trait, she was able to get them out of the way in a second, making the cobra-Hollow crash her head into her body.

Saji was now shaking in fear after almost getting mauled by the Hollow.

"Don't just charge into things, Genshiro-kun," advised Tomoe. "You can't expect the enemy to fall for the same trick twice."

Saji only nodded to her with his terrified look still intact.

Suddenly, the cobra-Hollow opened her mouth while staring at the Devils. The Devils widened their eyes to see that the Hollow is beginning to launch what appeared to be a dark-purple projectile at them.

"What the Hell!" Rias exclaimed. "Is this one launching a Cero?!"

" **Oh, It's not a Cero,"** the cobra-Hollow corrected. **"It's a deadly attack that injects poison into my victims when the projectile pierces them!"**

The dark-purple projectile could now be seen more clearly. It appeared as a large arrow with a sharpened edge on both sides.

Tsubaki got in front of the group with a stern expression.

"Don't think this gives you an advantage on us, Hollow!"

As the cobra-Hollow launched the projectile, Tsubaki extended her hands in front of her above her head. While she was moving her hands downwards, an object started to manifest from her palms.

"Mirror Alice!"

A large full body mirror has appeared from Tsubaki's palms. The frame of the mirror was glowing gold, while the mirror itself was flashing a pink light.

As the dark-purple projectile made contact with the mirror, the projectile suddenly bounced off the mirror and flew at the cobra-Hollow at a much faster speed then when the Hollow launched the attack. After the mirror reflected the attack, it shattered into pieces, disappearing afterwards.

The Hollow widened her eyes in shock at how the mirror reflected her attack. She moved her head out of the way so she won't get hit. Unfortunately, for her, the projectile speared through her lower-half of her body, making her scream in agony as the lower half has disintegrated due to the poison from the projectile. The cobra-Hollow then fell on the ground, with her body now the size of six python bodies.

"Well, at least we're no longer surrounded by the Hollow's lower half," commented Rias, sighing a breath of relief.

"You have Tsubaki's Sacred Gear to thank for that," Sona said to Rias. "When an enemy attack comes into contact with her Mirror Alice, it reflects the attack with twice the damage on the attacker."

Rias smiled at her friend.

"This is making me even more glad you guys showed up when the Hollows attacked our servants."

Their conversation was cut short when they heard a violent hiss coming from the cobra-Hollow. The Devils readied themselves for whatever trick she attempts to pull off next.

" **You… Bitch!"** The cobra-Hollow had her attention set on Tsubaki, who gripped onto the hilt of her naginata while glaring right back at the Hollow.

"We need to be careful dealing with this Hollow," Sona said to her servants. "This one's stronger than we thought it would be."

"That's right," Agreed Rias. "And as soon as we take care of her, we can get to Ise asap!"

"Right!" Rias' servants said in unison.

"Asia, get to a nearby tree and hide their now!" Rias instructed Asia.

"Y-Yes Ma'am!" Asia ran away from the group to the nearest tree and stayed put behind one until they put that Hollow down. She occasionally peeps from behind the tree to watch her friends do battle.

" **GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"**

The cobra-Hollow lunged at the Devils, wanting to sink her teeth into one of their flesh. The Devils dodged the attack and began to attack back with their own attacks. Kiba, with his Holy Eraser, Koneko, Tsubasa, Ruruko, and Saji with their hand-to-hand combat, Tomoe, her slashes with her katana, and Rias, Akeno, Sona, Reya, and Momo, their magic.

While Tsubaki too was trying to kill the Hollow with her naginata, she couldn't help but take a quick look at where Issei ran off to with softened eyes.

'Hyoudou-kun, wherever you are, I hope you're okay.'

* * *

Issei was currently panting from his battle against the bat-Hollow and witch-Hollow. His clothing was torn up due to the injuries he got from the Hollows, mostly the bat-Hollow. He has claw marks on his right side of his back and a scratch just on the lower left of his chest region, tearing apart the left side of his School shirt and blazer and only leaving the right side of them left. His right leg got clawed up due to jumping over the bat-Hollow's attacks twice while dodging the flames of the witch-Hollow with his Shunpo. He still got hurt there despite the help of Shunpo because he wasn't use to maneuvering at such high speeds yet. There was also a trickle of blood from his forehead that traveled to the bridge of his nose.

" **Looks like the Dragon-Devil's at his limit,"** The bat-Hollow said while twitching and panting rapidly.

" **Yes,"** agreed the witch-Hollow. **"Now is the time the boy met his end."**

She began to gather up more of her flames in the palm of her right hand as she stared at Issei with what appeared to be lust of hunger in her eyes.

 _ **{Come on, Partner! You've got to do something quick! Why couldn't you use Dragon Shot on one of them or at least transfer power to your sword?! You haven't forgotten about Boosted Gear's other abilities already, have you?!}**_

Issei sighed heavily as he stared down at his crooked sword.

'No, I haven't forgotten Ddraig. There's a reason I haven't been using those other abilities yet.'

 _ **{And that is?}**_

Issei set his eyes on his Boosted gear and made a stern expression.

'It's because of that time I fought Rika. I didn't want to risk having it go "Burst" as I keep trying to launch Dragon Shot after Dragon Shot at them in hopes that I hit their masks.'

 _ **{Partner, while I appreciate you trying to be strategic in this battle, it's just two more Hollows. After you take care of them, you can head back and reunite with your friends.}**_

'I wouldn't say that, Ddraig.'

 _ **{Oh? And why's that?}**_

Issei looked at the area where he came from before entering the alleyway to 'hide' from the Hollows that were after him.

'While I was fighting them, I sensed two deadly Reiatsu signatures that were killing intent. While I know my friends are alive and holding their own, since one of the deadly Reiatsus from their location has disappeared, I can sense that they're dealing with one more enemy while I'm not around. And since it has the exact same Reiatsu as the two Hollows I'm fighting, it's safe to assume that this one's a Hollow too.'

 _ **{Well, well, it seems that you're far more interesting than I thought you would be.}**_

Issei raised an eyebrow at his statement.

'Why would you say that?'

 _ **{The fact that you're able to tell that your friends are alive, and that there's an enemy with them, and that aura you have that has a mixture of black and white, and your desire to protect your friends and other innocent people being the strongest I've ever seen, that's enough for me to know that you are the most unique host of them all.}**_

Issei chuckled at Ddriag's reasons.

'Yeah… I guess I am kinda special to have such powers and desire, eh?'

" **It's time we finish this boy!"**

Issei's inner conversation with Ddraig was cut short when he heard the voice of the witch-Hollow speaking to him. When he looked up, she had a ball of black-purple flame in the palm of her right hand.

" **Hey, toots, you go ahead and finish him off since he's out of stamina,"** The bat-Hollow said while panting. **"I'm at my limit here, and I'm really, REALLY HUNGRY!"**

" **Why I would gladly do so, fufufu~."**

The witch-Hollow then aimed her ball of flame at Issei, ready to burn him to a crisp. Issei didn't know why, but something wasn't right with how that Hollow replied to the bat-Hollow, as she had her eyes on that Hollow while aiming at Issei.

 _ **{Well, what are you waiting for?! Dodge her attack while you have the strength!}**_

'Hold up, Ddraig,' Issei said in his mind. 'I'm getting this strange feeling from her intentions?'

 _ **{Feelings from her intentions? Partner, how can you tell what she's really up to when it looks quite obvious what she's doing?}**_

Issei didn't respond to him as he kept his attention on the witch-Hollow, ready for any kind of trick she's got. The Hollow finally fired her flame like a bullet, but, it didn't hit Issei. In fact, he didn't even try to dodge it. So why didn't he get hit?

 **"GYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"**

Issei widened his eyes in surprise as he heard a scream from behind.

'What the Hell...'

 _ **{...Just happened?}**_

Issei jumped away from the witch-Hollow and turned to where the scream came out. He and Ddraig were flabbergasted when Issei saw that the black-purple flames were engulfing the bat-Hollow, starting at his feet and slowly creeping up to his body.

" **You… YOU BITCH! YOU MISSED HIM!"**

The witch-Hollow giggled at the bat-Hollow's pain.

" **Sorry dear,"** the witch-Hollow said with mocked guilt from her voice. **"It's nothing personal, but my hunger's reaching its limit too. And no, it's not simply because of the boy's dragon arm."**

" **WHAT?! YOU BITCH! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?! YOU FUCKING SLUT!"**

The bat-Hollow continued to scream as the flames continue to devour him. The flames finally reached the mask and started burning it away. After a few seconds of the mask burning, the Hollow dispersed into black particles in the air and turned sky-blue, signaling to Issei that his soul is now in peace.

Issei almost felt bad for the Hollow. He was betrayed by a fellow Hollow over a "Meal" that they originally promised to share. But now, it seems that she's backing down on that promise.

The witch-Hollow then turned her gaze on Issei. He noticed the gaze and got into a fighting stance with his crooked katana.

" **Now it's just the two of us. Fufufufufufu~."**

Issei glared at the Hollow in disgust.

"Even though you're a Hollow, it was pretty damn cruel for you to kill your partner due to your own selfish needs. Still, what should I expect from someone like you?"

" **Fufufufufufu~. I had my reasons for killing him off, and as I stated before, it's not just because of your Dragon arm."**

"Really?" Issei asked while smirking. "Then what's your reason?"

The witch-Hollow giggled perversely as she conjured two black-purple flames from both of her hands.

" **That's an answer that you have to earn, if you _can_ that is~."**

The Hollow launched her flames at Issei to burn him, but Issei saw them coming and used Shunpo to dodge them with impressive speed and charge at her with his sword raised above his head. He used Shunpo again to approach her quickly before she could dodge his attack, much to her dismay. Luckily for her, she was able to dodge his downward slash, but she got hit in her right shoulder as he was able to cut her there.

The witch-Hollow jumped back three feet from Issei and conjured up more of her flames.

" **Hmph. I almost forgot you're somehow able to go this fast. No matter. This will make tearing you apart even more enjoyable~!"**

"I'd like to see you try, you damn witch!"

Issei unleashed a battle cry as he charged at her again with his sword raised high, only for the witch-Hollow to dodge again and attempt to blast him with her fireball. Issei sensed the attack and side-stepped with his Shunpo. The Hollow tried blasting him again with her other ball of black-purple flame, but as she launched it, Issei ducked under the attack and slashed at her upwards. She barely dodged that attack. While Issei was able to nick her chest, he missed her mask. Issei then retreated from her by jumping away so she won't attempt to cut him down with her claws.

" **I must say, you're quite the fighter,"** The witch-Hollow complimented as she conjured more of her flames. **"You really do know how to please a lady~."**

Issei only glared at her as he prepared for her next move. Once again, she launched the fireball from her left hand at him, Issei dodged it easily with his Shunpo as he was charging at her once more. He was now near her, ready to deliver the final blow. But before he could do so, she shot the fireball from her right hand point blank at his blade, shattering it to pieces. Issei was also blown back from the blast radius of her flames and crashed into a building behind him. He fell from the wall and landed on his hands and knees, breathing heavily from the impact and damage.

Issei was in really bad shape now. He was bleeding all over from how powerful the blast was, but it wasn't to the point where he can't move anymore. He moved his head up so he can glare at the witch-Hollow, who was laughing up a storm possibly due to Issei's current condition.

'Dammit! At this rate, I won't be able to head back to the others in time!'

 _ **{What are you going to do now, partner? With no weapon to protect yourself with, except for the Boosted Gear, how are you going to take her on? I believe it's time you actually start using my help from the Sacred Gear now!}**_

'I know, Ddraig, I know. But I can't be too careless here. What if she's able to counter my Dragon Shot with her flames?'

 _ **{Hmm… You do have a point, but you do know you don't have a choice, right?}**_

'*Sigh*, I'm aware of that Ddraig.'

Issei then thought of something due to his further use of his new found power.

'Hey, Ddraig.'

 _ **{What is it, partner?}**_

'I just thought of an idea that has to do with my Shunpo.'

 _ **{Oh? What do you have in mind?}**_

'Here's what I've thought of, Not only could I maneuver and dodge with Shunpo, but maybe, just maybe, I could also use it to speed up my attacks?'

 _ **{Speed up your attacks?}**_

'Allow me to clarify: Instead of swinging my sword normally, I could use Shunpo to make my swing faster. Hopefully, it'll be fast enough to where the enemy won't see the swing.'

Issei then sighed to himself with a sweat drop.

'Unfortunately, that's just an example, since that I no longer have a sword.'

 _ **{So, what are you trying to get at, partner?}**_

Issei then looked at his Gauntlet-covered arm with a calculating expression and a hand on his chin.

'What I'm getting at is that maybe if I could speed up my attacks, then maybe I can do the same with using the Dragon Shot, so I hopefully won't worry about the enemy seeing it coming.'

 _ **{Hmm…}**_ The Welsh Dragon sealed in the gauntlet was pondering about his host's theory.

 _ **{You know, partner, that might actually wo-}**_

" **HA, HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

Issei's mental conversation with Ddraig was stopped when Issei heard the witch-Hollow continue to laugh. Her laughter was much more louder than it was a few moments ago.

" **YES~! This is perfect. You are the best one I've played with in such a long time! You're way more fun then the other men I've eaten!"**

After hearing her say that last sentence, Issei's expression turned into a scowl as he slowly got up to his feet and boosted himself up with his Boosted Gear.

"Would you care to clarify?"

" **Fufufufufu~. Well, since you've survived this long, I might as well tell you about my type of meal."**

From there, the witch-Hollow began to explain to Issei about her past.

[Play song: Bleach OST: Creeping Shadows]

" **You see, even before becoming this creature you see before you, my target of choice were always the men."**

Issei widened his eyes at her sentence, before becoming a full-blown scowl.

"Wait… Do you mean to tell me… You actually started killing people before you became a Hollow?! And the victims you chose were mostly men?!"

" **HA HA HA HA! That's right, Darling! Back then, I was known as "The most Dangerous prostitute" by most of the men at town, and personally, I kinda liked that name. I was indeed a prostitute, and a quite deadly one at that!"**

Issei's scowl started to look more deadly.

" **When I pick out my victims back when I was alive, I'd find the closest alleyway and seduce them to have sex with me. And when the timing was just right, I stab them in the stomach with a knife while we were kissing with our tongues. Ahh~. The best part about killing them was the taste of their blood when they start couching it up after I deliver the killing blow."**

Issei began to grind his teeth in rage after she revealed how she kills her victims when she was once human. He knows of Akeno's sadism, and it's only targeted towards her enemies, at least that's what Rias told him. But _this_? _T_ _his_ was just… Evil.

" **Most guys would be shy to get it on. But in order to seduce them to do what I want, I simply give them a blowjob and a titty-fuck so they could get on board for the best time of their lives, and their doom too."**

 _ **{That conniving witch!}**_

Issei nodded his head in agreement with Ddraig as the witch-Hollow began to fondle her breasts while moaning in sadistic pleasure.

" **Oh~, how I remember the fun I had on my killing spree~. Too bad it all had to end when one of those damn cops who caught up to me gunned me down when I tried to kill him!"**

"Hmph! I hope those bullets hurt!"

" **Oh, they did. But when that bastard shot me down, I thought it was the end of me. But then, a miracle happened. I was back from the dead! Sure, I'm not as beautiful as I use to be, but as long as I can continue my killings, that's all that matters to me!"**

Issei narrowed his eyes at the witch-Hollow.

"Let me guess, your first victim coming back as a Hollow was that cop who killed you, wasn't it?"

" **You guessed right!"** The witch-Hollow said with glee in her voice. **"And I made sure it was a slow, _painful_ death too! When I found him at his home, he was shocked to see that a monster was in his home. Before he could grab his gun, I caught him by the crotch and teared off his genitals!"**

Issei was aghast at what she's done as he placed his right hand on his mouth, feeling the pain of the now deceased officer.

'Holy fuck!'

" **After I tore them off, I've forced the prick to eat them as I continued to watch his crotch bleed such a beautiful color~! After I got him to swallow it all, I ripped out his heart and ate it!"**

Issei's eyes were now widening in anger and rage as he started to tighten his fists. His body started to radiate more of his black and white aura. The witch-Hollow didn't notice the aura because she was too busy laughing sadistically while she was recalling her revenge.

" **And you know what the best part is?! His wife came downstairs to see what the screaming was about, and the reaction from her was PRICELESS!"**

Issei's eyes widened further when she mentioned that the cop had a wife.

" **Before you say anything, yes, I had to take care of her too since she's seen my actions. In order to do so, I used my new found power to burn her away from existence, LEAVING NOTHING BUT ASH! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

Issei started to grind his teeth as his anger was at its boiling point. The black aura with white outlining fumed a much higher amount than it previously did. It was like a flamethrower firing its flames upwards.

" **Now then,"** The witch-Hollow said, not looking at Issei as she was recovering from her sadistic laughter. **"It's time that I eat you up! Not only do you have the arm of a dragon, but the fact that you are a man makes you even more deli-"**

ZIP!

[Song end]

Issei used his Shunpo to approach the witch-Hollow, catching her off guard. Her eyes have now widened in utter shock when she saw that Issei has both of her arms in both of his hands. He made sure to keep a good grip on them too so that she won't be able to burn him with her flames. While gripping onto her arms, his eyes were hidden behind his bangs.

The witch-Hollow's body started to tremble in fear as she saw that same aura radiating from his body like it did when he was caught by the frog-Hollow, only its mass started getting bigger and bigger by the second. Afterwards, it started to slowly mold it self into a large cylander behind him, unbeknownst to the young Devil.

"What's wrong?" Issei asked as he started to smirk, sensing fear coming from the witch-Hollow. "Aren't you gonna use your flames to burn me to a crisp? Aren't you gonna try and bite me in the neck so you can break yourself free from my grasp?"

Issei knew that she won't be able to do anything, as he was sensing her fear increasing. At first, he did wonder why she was fearing him, as he only grabbed onto her arms so she won't try to burn him. But he doesn't care. That Hollow murdered a happy couple, and she was going to pay.

The ball of aura behind molded to the point where it took on a skull. The skull had white stripes and white eyes glaring right at the witch-Hollow. The witch-Hollow's eyes widened further at the aura's new form. What freaked her out the most was that it was actually growling at her.

' **Wha… What is this?! This power feels so familiar… And yet… It's coming from that boy!'**

"I see," the witch-Hollow was snapped out of her thoughts as he heard Issei continue to talk. "You have no use for them anymore, is that it?"

After asking her that question, he lifted his head up to make eye contact with the Hollow. His eyes were wide with rage. Sure, he was smirking sadistically, but his eyes told another story.

"THEN ALLOW ME TO FIX THAT FOR YOU!"

Issei planted his right foot onto her stomach and gave her arms a strong pull.

SNAP! SNAP!

" **GYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

Issei used all of his strength to tear off her arms and threw them on the ground. The black skull with white outlining has dispersed and evaporated afterwards. The witch-Hollow was screaming in agony. Her empty arm sockets started to bleed profusely. Her blood splattered on the walls and the ground as she continued to scream in pain. After finally calming down, still in pain from Issei's actions, she violently glared at him.

" **YOU BASTARD! YOU TORE OFF MY ARMS!"**

Issei sent a glare right back at her.

"Obviously. And it hurts doesn't it. That pain… was the _exact_ same pain that cop and his wife felt when you murdered them!"

" **SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"**

The witch-Hollow lunged at him in rage and attempted to bite his flesh. Issei only dodged by stepping to the side and tripped her with a sweep-kick, making her fall onto the ground on her back. Before she could get up, Issei planted his left foot on her neck to make sure she doesn't escape.

'Let's finish this, Ddraig!'

 _ **{Yeah! I'll back you up with this one, partner!}**_

Issei conjured up a Dragon Shot from his Boosted Gear and aimed it right at her head.

 _{Explosion!}_

" **No! NO!"**

"Save your pleas for the depths of Hell, bitch!"

Issei then pulled his left fist back to punch the orb.

"This is for the cop and his unfortunate wife, as well as other countless lives you've taken away; before and after becoming a Hollow!"

There was no escape for the witch-Hollow now. If she still had her arms, she would incinerate him before he had a chance to finish her off. But her arms were gone now.

With a battle cry, Issei punched the red orb and fired a Dragon Shot at her mask in point-blank range. Her mask was now completely shattered while she was screaming from the pain caused by the Dragon Shot. Issei then jumped away from the Hollow and watched her closely, knowing what's going to happen next. And he wants to see it.

Instead of dispersing into particles, the witch-Hollow's body started to become engulfed in flames. The body then turned into a charred skeleton while screaming in immense pain. After screaming for three seconds, what appeared to be large floating gates with skeletal features has appeared near the body.

Issei knew exactly what they were. They were the gates of Hell, and they came to take her soul and punish her for the sins she committed before she became a Hollow.

The gates began to open, revealing a Hellish sight to Issei's eyes. He had to admit, what he witnessed kinda freaked him out a little, but it was where that murderer belongs.

A large skeletal hand appeared from the gates to take the evil soul away. It went to its destination, the charred skeleton that's the soul that committed terrible sins before becoming a Hollow, and grabbed her. The skeleton tried to break free, but it was no use. The large skeletal hand had a tight grip on the evil soul as it pulled her into the gates of Hell. The evil soul let out one last scream of agony before the hand pulled her all the way into her eternal purgatory to be punished for her sins. As the hand and soul got in, the gates closed behind them and faded away from Issei's sight, signaling that the evil soul has gone to the lowest depths of Hell.

Issei was now heavily breathing after he finally defeated the witch-Hollow. He was barely standing due to the wounds from the fight back when the bat-Hollow was around affecting him greatly.

"I did it!" Issei shouted while panting hard. "I've defeated that Hollow and avenged the cop and his wife!"

 **{What do you plan on doing now, partner?}**

Issei chuckled at Ddraig's question, who was now speaking through the Boosted Gear. The green gem shined at every word the Welsh Dragon spoke.

"Isn't it obvious Ddraig? I'm heading back to the others and help them out."

 **{Easier said than done, if you want my opinion. First off, How are you going to get to them if you don't know exactly where they are. While I'm aware you can detect people's Reiatsu to see if they're alive, who they are, what they are, and what power level they are, I don't think you can use it to see where they are… Can you?}**

Issei smirked at Ddraig's last question because of how Ddraig said it. Ddraig actually did wonder if his host can actually find people with the ability as well.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, my friend."

Issei began to take a deep breath, close his eyes, relax his muscles, and just stood still silently while he seemed to be concentrating on something.

 **{Uhhh… Are you sure you know what you're doing?}**

'Don't worry Ddraig,' Issei assured him telepathically. 'I know what I'm doing.'

What happened next had Ddraig surprised. Issei was concentrating his power so he can detect the Reiatsu of his friends. He continued his concentration until the moment he felt like he's done enough and started to slowly open his eyes. The environment around him was now a cobalt-blue color as he detected a lot of roaming flames around. But Issei knew this wasn't the time to be impressed with his latest ability. He had to find his friends, and he had to find them fast.

He first searched the light-blue flames that were roaming around. He wasn't too sure about them as they didn't feel like the signature of his friends. He then noticed a couple walking together hand in hand and saw that the two were surrounded by the same color flames as the other ones. This lead to Issei concluding that the Reiatsu color surrounding the couple is the same color for normal humans, as well as that the other flames he saw were people in front of the buildings walking by. He was now slowly turning around into a 360 degree angle until he could find the signature he was looking. It took him around fifteen seconds until he widened his eyes as he found some different colored flames. Five of them were red, eight of them were dark-blue, and one was a large black flame.

"Yes! I found them!" Issei said with a victory smirk.

 **{Really? Are you certain?}**

Issei nodded and began to explain how he found them.

"You see, while the ORC gang and I were eating cake to celebrate Asia's status as Buchou's Bishop, Buchou gave me permission to train my Reiatsu sensing abilities on the group so I could tell if the Reiatsu I sense is a friendly or not. As I was doing so, the group were surrounded by the same red flames I'm currently looking at with my own eyes. They asked me what I saw and I told them just that. As for the Sitri Devils, their Reiatsu color is dark-blue. I was able to tell when I detected some Reiatsu from one of the student council members."

Issei's smile grew wider in confidense.

"And if my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, these flames are going to lead me right to them!"

 **{Ha ha ha ha! My host, you have been impressing me and impressing me by the moment!}**

Issei shared a chuckle with Ddraig.

"Yeah, I guess I'm really that special. Now then, let's get moving!"

With that said, Issei used the speed of his Shunpo to make his way to where the red and blue flames were located in hopes that he'll make it to his friends in time before they get killed.

 **{You sure it's a good idea to use your Shunpo with the current condition you're in?}**

"Don't worry, I'll be alright. They shouldn't be that far. Besides, I've got Asia to thank once she patches me up with her Twilight Healing."

 **{Alright then. Just be careful, partner.}**

* * *

The Gremory and Sitri Devils were really in a pickle now. Ever since Tsubaki destroyed the cobra-Hollow's lower half with her Mirror Alice, the Hollow was now behaving and fighting like a berserker. She was constantly charging, striking, and bouncing around in attempt to pick off one of the Devils. Due to the Hollow's movement pattern, it gave Saji a hard time wrap his Absorption line around her neck to restrain her.

Asia was watching the battle from behind the tree she was instructed to hide behind. She was in fear that the monster would kill her new friends, and was in high hopes that they would defeat it.

"This is scary. And what's worse is that Issei-san hasn't come back yet! Dear Lord, please assure Issei-san's safety and return-"

ZAP!

"AHH!"

Asia was now rubbing her head from the headache she received for praying to God.

While the Devils and the cobra-Hollow were battling, everyone's eyes have widened when they've suddenly felt a familiar demonic signature coming from afar, only for the signature to disappear after fifteen seconds have past.

"You felt it too, Sona?" Rias asked her friend.

"Yes, I have," replied Sona with her surprised expression still intact. "It was the Gates of the Underworld. But… They only appear in the human world to claim the soul of a Hollow that has done evil before becoming one."

After hearing her explanation, Rias and her servants' eyes widened further when they heard the information. They kept quiet as they were letting the information sink in.

"So… Did Issei-senpai win?" Koneko was the first to break the silence. Her question caused Rias to soften her eyes and look in the direction of where Issei ran off to.

"Ise..."

The Devils suddenly heard the sound of sniffing and turned to see the cobra-Hollow.

" **Hmm… That smell… It's delightful. And it appears to be coming from that direction."**

Everyone widened their eyes at the Hollow's sudden words as she continued to sniff the scent out.

" **Ah, yes, it's also got the signature of a dragon."**

Sona then notice out of the corner of her eye that her Queen was gripping onto the hilt of her naginata tightly after the Hollow clarified what she was smelling, causing Sona to raise an eyebrow at her. She was always curious about why Tsubaki always seemed flustered by the mere mention of Issei back when she accompanied her during her talks with Rias. And how Tsubaki was behaving after the cobra-Hollow mentioned the signature being a dragon that comes from Issei's Sacred Gear just made her more interested in her Queen's feelings for Rias' Pawn.

Before Sona could ask Tsubaki if she's alright, the cobra-Hollow continued to speak.

" **Hmm… Maybe after I devour all of you, I'll find the source of this wonderful scent and eat him up next!"**

Rias gritted her teeth at the Hollow while everyone else held angered expressions. But no one was more pissed then Tsubaki as she gripped her weapon tighter and tighter by the second.

"I will _never_ allow the likes of you to devour him, or _any_ of my friends and my servants!" Rias shouted at the Hollow in anger.

" **HA HA HA HA! And how are you going to stop me, you little runt! You Devils weren't able to take me down with all of the strength you got! First, I'll devour all of you weaklings as my appetizer, and then, I'll find the source of the smell and devour that too! YES! THIS WILL BE THE BEST MEAL I'LL EVER-"**

SLICE! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Everyone was taken back in surprise to see Tsubaki give the cobra-Hollow's mask a horizontal slash. Thanks to her Knight trait, and that the Hollow was too busy with her fantasy of eating the source of the smell, she was able to strike at the mask with all of her strength. And she succeeded. The cobra-Hollow's mask started spurting blood from the cracks caused by Tsubaki's naginata as the Hollow was screaming in pain from the slash. The Hollow than fell onto the ground face first. While she managed to cause damage to the Hollow's mask, it was only a shallow crack, so she wasn't done for just yet.

Before the cobra-Hollow could get up, Tsubaki planted her foot on her mask and aimed her blade at it.

"I won't allow you, or _any_ other Hollow devour Issei!"

Tsubaki then stabbed her naginata into the Hollow's mask, finishing her off in the process. The Hollow then dispersed into black particles and turned sky-blue and flew upwards towards the sky.

The soul can now rest in peace.

Tsubaki was heavily panting, trying to calm down from her minor rage. She then realized what she just said to the Hollow as her eyes have widened and her face started flashing several shades of red. She then noticed out of the corner of her eye the many different looks she was getting from the other Devils, minus Asia who was still hiding behind the tree. With some surprised, some chuckling and giggling with their eyes closed, and some with slight jealous glares and pouts.

Guess who the latter looks belong to.

"Wh-Wh-Why are you all looking at me at like that?!" Tsubaki asked the group with her flustered look intact.

"Ara ara, I think it's quite obvious why, my fellow Queen. Fufufufu~"

While Akeno appeared to be smiling, her eyes were staring at her, but it was hard to tell since they were slightly open.

Before Tsubaki could say anything back to her…

"GYYAAAAAAHHHH!"

Asia came running towards the other Devils with fear visible on her face. She ran behind the nearest member of Rias' peerage: Koneko.

"What's wrong, Asia?" Koneko asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

Everyone's question was answered when they heard a howl that didn't sound like it was far. The Devils looked in the direction where Asia was running from and were in utter shock at what they saw.

"Damn! There's more of them?!" Kiba asked with irritation in his voice.

What they saw were two dozens of Hollows slowly approaching them. Some looked like different animals, only deadlier, and others looked like basic hulking creatures. They all had their eyes on the Devils as they have all found their prey, making the Devils, minus Asia, ready themselves for battle.

One of the Hollows, who had a crooked cleaver for a right arm, was the first to make a move as it charged towards the Devils. Its first choice in killing was Tsubaki as it started to turn towards her and raised its cleaver above its head, ready to slash at her with it.

Tsubaki tightened her grip on her naginata as she prepared herself to block the cleaver wielding Hollow. However, instead of lowering its arm to strike, it side stepped and aimed for her hip, tricking Tsubaki into blocking its basic attack. She attempted to move her blade to where the Hollow changed attack coordinates, but she wasn't gonna block it in time. The Hollow's blade was already near her hip, ready to cut her down.

BLAST! POW!

Before the Hollow's blade-arm could touch her, a giant beam of power struck the Hollow in the head, destroying the mask and turning the Hollow into fading particles turning from black to blue as they fly upwards.

Everyone was in shock at the sudden attack that was targeting the Hollow that attempted to cut Tsubaki in half.

'What was that?' Sona wondered in her mind with her shocked expression still intact. 'That attack was powerful enough to kill that Hollow, but not enough to get Tsubaki injured by it too, or at least be blown away by its strong wind pressure.'

"Y-Y-...You're alive!"

Everyone's eyes have widened further after hearing what Asia just said. They noticed that tears were streaming down the former nun's face as she had a wide smile on her face. They then all turned to where Asia was looking at, and what they saw nearly had their eyes pop out of their sockets.

Standing before them, was a bloodied and bruised up Issei Hyoudou, who had his Boosted Gear-covered fist outward while heavily panting. His school blazer was gone, only his right half of his shirt was left from his battle, leaving most of his upper body exposed. His left pant leg was also torn off due to the flames of the previous Hollow he killed while his right pant leg had many claw marks with some of that pant leg still intact. Claw marks were visible on his back and on the lower left of his chest region. The bleeding appeared to have stopped from the wounds.

The Devils, minus Asia since she already knew he's still alive, had many reactions. Kiba, Koneko, Saji and Sona were flabbergasted that Issei survived the Hollows chasing him. Momo, Reya, Ruruko, and Tomoe shared the same shocked expressions with light blushes on their faces due to Issei's body build. Akeno and Tsubaki's blushes were darker than the previous girls' were, with Tsubaki grateful that he's alive as her eyes softened at his direction. Akeno was too, but she was also taking quick lustful glances at his injuries. As for Tsubasa, thanks to Issei's body build, and the cuts and bruises all over him, she had the darkest blush out of all the girls with a trickle of blood flowing from her nose.

Rias was on the verge of tears as she held both of her hands to her chest. She couldn't believe that she was actually seeing her Pawn before her vary eyes.

Issei lowered his arm down and looked towards the Devils, getting their attention. He then lifted his right hand up and slightly waved at them.

"Yo."

Just hearing Issei's voice was enough for Rias to finally have those held in tears roll down her cheeks as her eyes have softened.

"Ise..."

Suddenly, Asia began running towards Issei.

"Oh, Issei-san! You don't know how happy I am to see you!"

Asia latched onto Issei for a hug.

"Ungh! Easy now, Asia!"

Asia then felt something wet on her shirt and loosened her hug to see what it was. She then widened her eyes to see that she's got Issei's blood on her shirt from his wounds. She then looked at his wounds and let out a gasp to see that it started bleeding again.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Issei-san! I wasn't paying attention! I'll tend to your injuries right now!"

Asia began to use her Twilight Healing to get him patched up, starting with the injury in his chest.

"Thanks, Asia. I'm in your care."

After taking care of his chest, Asia then got behind him to take care of the injuries on his back and his right leg. While she was doing so, Issei saw Rias walk towards him. He was taken back a little to see tears staining her cheeks with fresh ones threatening to leave her eyes.

"All set," Asia announced to Issei, getting his attention.

"Thanks again, Asia. I appreciate it."

Asia nodded to him in response as Issei started to turn his head back to Rias. Before he could fully set his eyes on her…

PINCH!

"Ow! Owowowowow, ow!"

Rias was pinching his cheek while having a pout on her lips. She kept her two fingers latched onto it for five seconds before letting it go. Before Issei could say anything, he widened his eyes in surprise when she trapped him into a tight bear hug, making him blush a dark shade of red.

"B-Bucho-"

"IDIOT! What were you thinking when you made the decision to sacrifice yourself to the Hollows?!"

Everyone was taken back by Rias' pitch of her voice, mostly because she was choking on her tears.

"Buchou..."

"Listen, even if you feel responsible for what's happened, you can't just risk your life like this and try to handle everything on your own! Do you have any idea how worried we were when you made that stunt?! As your master, I sure as Hell was!"

Issei's surprised look was kept intact at her words as she continued to sob in his chest. He looked to the other Gremory Devils and widened his eyes further to see everyone showing him the same worried expressions that Rias has. He was more surprised to see even Koneko look at him with such eyes and expression.

Issei felt a tug at what's left of his shirt and turned his head back to Rias, who has now calmed down from her sobbing, but still had tears staining her cheeks with her worried expression intact. Issei decided to hug her back to cheer her up, making Rias widen her eyes, and everyone else look on at the scene with mixed reactions. Some had jealous stares and pouts, and others were glad that he's still alive and kicking.

"I'm sorry, Buchou," Issei said to her with a sincere expression. "But hey, I was at least able to defeat those Hollows that were after me, so that's a plus, right?"

Rias let a smile form on her lips as she released Issei from her hug.

"Please, Ise, promise me you won't do another reckless stunt like that ever again. We really thought that you were going to die by those Hollows."

Issei scratched the back of his head shyly while looking at her.

"Well… I'm not that good at keeping promis-"

PINCH!

"AAAAGGGHHH! Okay! Okay! I promise I won't do it again! AAAAAAGGGHH!"

Satisfied with his answer, she lets go of his cheek and smiles at him again.

"Um, guys," Everyone turns to Saji. "I don't mean to interrupt your reunion, but..."

Everyone then turned to where he was pointing and saw that the Hollows were getting closer to them.

"Everyone, get ready for battle!" Rias and Sona say to their servants.

"Yes ma'am!" Everyone said in unison as they prepare for combat.

 _{Boost!}_

Everyone notices Issei stepping forward with them with a determined expression.

"Don't count me out! I'm fighting with you guys too!"

"Are you sure, Hyoudou-Kun?" Issei turned to see that it was Reya who asked him that question with worry visible on her face. "You've barely survived those three Hollows. Don't you need some rest?"

"Yes, I agree with Sona's Bishop," Rias added. "I don't want to have to fear losing you again!"

Issei smiled at Rias kindly and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, making her cheeks turn light red.

"You have nothing to worry about. If I'm able to survive my fight with Rika, and defeat those three Hollows, then I'll be able to handle myself with those Hollows as well. As your Pawn, I must do whatever I can to get strong and to protect the ones I care about!"

Rias widened her eyes at her Pawn's confidence. At first, she didn't want him to fight because she was afraid that he'll get mauled at due to his possible fatigue from fighting those previous three Hollows, But his confidence was telling her otherwise. She was in awe at Issei's determination to defeat the Hollows that stand before them and their fellow Devils. What surprised her the most was that he wasn't feeling fatigue at all. She once saw him heavily breathing after taking care of the Hollow that was about to kill Tsubaki, but all of the sudden, he's ready for action. It was like something was fueling him to keep on fighting to protect his friends. She was also reminded on how Kiba and Koneko were confident in Issei on how he'll survive against the Hollows, fueling her more into trusting Issei.

Tsubaki looked at Issei with softened eyes, having been taken back by Issei's determination.

'Hyoudou-kun.'

Having made her decision in her mind, Rias sighed and looked at her Pawn.

"Alright, Ise. I won't stop you."

Issei smiled and nodded to his master as he balled his left hand into a fist.

"No worries, Buchou. You can count on me."

 _{Boost!}_

" **OOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

"Lovebirds, we're surrounded now!" Saji snapped at the two with an annoyed expression.

Issei and Rias now had wide eyes to see that the twenty-three Hollows were now surrounded. The Devils grouped up together and prepared themselves for a fight.

While they were waiting for one of the Hollows to make a move, Issei was observing the Hollows with the movement of his eyes. After scanning them for ten seconds, he nodded to himself and turned his head to Kiba.

"Hey, Kiba! You said that your Sword Birth can create any kind of demonic sword, correct?"

Kiba turned his head to Issei and nodded to him.

"Yes, that's right. Why are you asking me?"

A smirk then formed on Issei's lips.

[Play song: Bleach OST: Number One]

"Give me the strongest sword you've got."

Kiba widened his eyes at his fellow Devil's request. Even the rest of the Devils were wondering why he needs such a sword. He was about to question why, but the look on Issei's face was telling him that he'd be able to handle this.

Kiba set his Holy Eraser down and placed his fists together as if he was wielding a different sword. A bright red glow was now forming around his hands. The light then traveled upwards into a shape of a blade. This kept going until the blade reached the size of what Issei thought was Ichigo's Zanpakuto, back when he first became a Shinigami.

The light faded away to reveal a large sword that almost looked like Ichigo's sealed Zangetsu blade, but with minor exceptions. It had serated miniature blades near the hilt located on the back of the blade, there was an additional spike behind the grain, and it had a gold marking on each side of the sword.

After summoning the sword, Kiba presented it to Issei.

"This is the strongest demonic sword I can whip up for you. I must warn you that it's one of the heaviest blades I have. Are you sure you can handle it, Issei?"

Issei had the widest grin to ever be seen on his face as he nodded to the blonde Knight.

"Yeah, let's do this."

Kiba approached Issei with the large sword and handed the hilt to him. Issei carefully gripped the hilt with both of his hands while Kiba was assisting him in keeping it steady.

"Careful, Issei."

"No worries, Kiba, I got this."

After hanging onto the hilt for a few seconds, Kiba lets go to allow Issei to balance the blade until he's accustomed to the weight. It took him a while, but Issei smirked at himself as he eventually got used to it and held the sword how it should be held. Everyone looked on in astonishment at the strength Issei had to wield such a huge blade, especially Tsubasa, as she was looking at the scene with stars in her eyes because of him wielding such a badass sword.

"Yeah..." Issei said in victory. "I've got this."

"Are you crazy?!"

Issei turned his eyes left to see Saji looking at him with a bewildered expression.

"There's no way you'd be able to use such a heavy tool of destruction! Do you really think you can fight with that thing?!"

As soon as Saji asked him that question, three of the twenty-three Hollows lunged at him with their mouths open, ready to bite the Sitri Devil. Saji covered himself up in fear that he'll get bitten by one of them. Before they could reach him, the sound of slicing could be heard, prompting Saji to take a peak from his arms. He widened his eyes to see that the three Hollow's heads were cut clean off as they started to disperse into particles and take off into the sky. His face then displayed total shock to see that it was Issei who was responsible for decapitating the Hollows. Issei then rested the sword on his shoulder while looking at Saji.

"Does that answer your question?"

 _{Boost!}_

Everyone looked on at the young brown-haired Devil, amazed with how he was able to swing the sword perfectly and land an attack on the Hollows, while Saji was left stuttering at the boy.

"Issei-san, look out!"

After hearing Asia's warning, he sensed a Hollow charging at him from behind, prompting him to lift his blade up again and dodge its attack with a side-step. Issei then went in for the kill as it was left vulnerable and stabbed the Hollow's head, putting that soul to rest in the process.

"Such reflexes!" Kiba commented with his eyes as wide as saucers.

"For Issei-kun to be able to move with such a heavy weapon!" Akeno added.

"Pretty impressive for a Pawn," Koneko said with her usual deadpan tone.

Rias had nothing to say. She could only look on in astonishment at Issei's movements with the sword. She's seen Kiba use the blade before, and it took away Kiba's speed as a Knight. He also had a hard time fighting in the same fluency as he had with his other swords.

The Sitri Devils share the same surprised expressions. Sona decided that she has underestimated him when she found out that Rias reincarnated him after he got killed by a Fallen Angel. Tsubaki looked at Issei with and amazed look in her eyes, and Tsubasa was still idling him as her kind of badass.

"Hey, Kiba," Issei got the Knight's attention as he sets his sights on him.

"Pick up your sword, it's time we put some tortured souls to rest, if you know what I mean."

 _{Boost!}_

Kiba blinked at him twice before smiling and nodding to him. He picked up his Holy Eraser and got ready to take on the remaining nineteen Hollows. Everyone else got along side them to fight them off too.

The Hollows lunged at the Devils, but they were prepared.

"On your right, Tomoe!" Momo warned her.

"Got it! Thanks!"

Tomoe dodged the Hollow that attempted to bite her with her Knight trait and took it down with a downward slash of her katana.

"Down you go!"

Koneko body slammed the Hollow's head with her Rook strength onto the ground, shattering its mask and killing it.

"Fufufu~. So many Hollows to play with, so little time~."

After licking her fingers, Akeno conjured up her lightning at zapped at three of the Hollows that were charging at her. As she was zapping them with her constant attacks, they twitched violently, much to her pleasure. This continued until their heads blown up and their bodies have dispersed into black particles that turn blue and fly towards the sky.

"Aww," Akeno said in disappointment while holding her hand onto her cheek. "I was hoping their twitching would last longer~. Fufufu~."

Rias, Sona, and Tsubaki shivered at her words.

"To be expected of the Ultimate Sadist," commented Sona.

Rias sweat dropped and nodded to her fellow King in agreement.

"So, shall we lend a hand?" Rias asks as she summons her demonic power.

"Hmph. Can't agree with you more here."

Sona conjured up her water magic until it took on the form of a serpent. As four of the remaining fourteen Hollows lunged at the Kings, Rias blasted her demonic energy at two of their heads to her left while Sona sent her water serpent at the two Hollows next to them. The serpent wrapped them around tightly with its body and bit into their heads one by one. The Hollows then dispersed afterwards.

Rias then widened her eyes as she realized she'd forgotten something and turned to where Issei and Kiba were, who were still clashing with the ten Hollows that were surrounding the two male servants of Rias.

"Ise!"

Issei turned his head to where Rias was.

"I've forgotten to tell you, you have my permission to promote here!"

"Saji! Ruruko! You have my permission to do the same!"

Saji and Ruruko nodded to their master as Saji and ruruko promoted to a piece of their choice, Saji's being a Knight, and Ruruko's being a Bishop.

Issei widened her eyes at Rias' permission to promote, but then turned serious as he nodded to her.

"Got it! Thanks, Buchou!"

Issei got back into his fighting stance as he was about to promote.

"Promotion! Grant me the strength of a Rook!"

After the promotion, Issei could feel the strength of the Rook trait flowing within him.

"Wait, Issei, You're wielding a sword, and you're able to wield it just fine. Why would you promote to something that's more into strength?"

Issei turned to Kiba and smirked confidently at the blonde Knight's question.

"Because I've discovered a new ability that doesn't require such promotion."

"Eh?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow at Issei's explanation. He then widened his eyes as he saw that Issei suddenly approached and impaled four of the Hollows with his large blade at an unbelievable speed. In fact, it was the same speed Kiba witnessed when Issei was fighting the Stray Exorcists back when they were on a rescue mission to save Asia.

The rest of the Devils shared the same surprised expression as Kiba's. Issei promoted to a Rook, so how was he able to move at such speed?

Issei then lifted his sword upwards, cutting their heads in half and killing them.

"H...How...?"

"How was I able to move this fast?" Issei finished for Kiba. The latter widened his eyes and nodded to him, wanting to know how he was able to do so.

"You see, during my fight with the three Hollows that chased me, I kept fighting them until I've discovered my new ability by being in a near death situation with them. And that ability is what you've just witnessed."

The Devils widened their eyes at Issei's explanation, some were because of him calling it a new ability, while others have found out that he was in a near death situation once.

"I call it Shunpo, or Flash-Step. Whichever you want to call it. It allows me to maneuver at presented speed without the need to promote to a Knight. Perhaps some of you folks have heard of the term Shunpo or Flash-Step before?"

Everyone widened their eyes further after Issei went into detail on his Shunpo ability. Rias, Akeno, and Tsubasa giggled afterwards as they knew where he got the name from.

"Ichigo knockoff..."

Issei sweat dropped and chuckled as he heard what Koneko addressed him as, not sure if he should take it as a compliment or an insult.

Issei then widened his eyes as he heard a howl from behind him. He used Shunpo as his instincts were telling him to dodge. After he did so, He aimed his next strike at the Hollow who tried to stab him from behind with its claws and cuts its arm off with a downward slash. He then used his Shunpo to enhance his next strike aiming for the mask. With it, he finished the Hollow off with a fast sideways strike, cleaving its head in half.

'Five left.'

 _{Boost!}_

"That's the speed of his so called 'Shunpo'?" Saji asked with shock visible on his face.

"Amazing," commented Tsubaki.

Sona looked on at the scene with an interested expression.

'There must be more to this boy then I, and even Rias thought.'

Rias shared the same astonished look as everyone else. She did not expect Issei to have such an ability without the need to promote into a Knight.

Issei then set his glare at the last five Hollows still standing. With a battle cry, he charged at the Hollows with the speed of his Shunpo and cut down the Hollow to his left. He then swung his sword sideways at the Hollow trying to tear him apart. Thanks to the strength of the Rook promotion, he was able to take them out without a sweat.

He then noticed out of the corner of his eye that one of the remaining three Hollows charging at him with its fists ready. It aimed for a punch in Issei's abdomen, but he was dodging every strike the Hollow used. The Hollow then held its hands together and made a downward motion with them, hoping to crush Issei with its next attack. As soon as its fists reached the ground, making a large crater from where the fists landed, it widened its glowing yellow eyes to see that its prey was gone. It then felt someone speed up behind him, but it was too late as Issei swung his sword downwards at its skull, splitting it in two.

The Hollow collapsed onto the ground with Issei standing on its back. He jumped off of it so the soul trapped in the monstrous husk can move on.

Issei then sets his attention towards the last two Hollows. One was a hulking juggernaut in the size of an apartment building, and the other took on the form of a praying mantis.

The mantis-Hollow was the first to charge at Issei with its bladed arms reaching outwards to slice Issei up. It swung its left arm down towards Issei, but he was fast enough to block the attack with his sword. The mantis-Hollow tried again, this time going all out with its bladed arms. Due to its berserker-like fighting, Issei was able to block most of its attacks, but he did get nicked on his cheek and left shoulder.

"Ise!"

"Issei-san!"

While Issei was trying to find a way to counter the mantis-Hollow, he saw the Hollow hulk charging towards him out of the corner of his eye. In a split-second, Issei thought of an idea as he smirked devilishly and backed away from the mantis-Hollow with the speed of his Shunpo. After he did this, his smirk widened as he saw the Hollow hulk slam its fist into the mantis-Hollow's mask, killing it in the progress.

"Heh! I knew my split-second decision to back away from the Hollow would serve me well. Since most Hollows fight like berserkers, it's easier to trick them due to their lust to eat their prey!"

The group was impressed with Issei's explanation.

"He's right, folks."

Everyone except Issei turned their heads to see Kiba talking to them.

"Remember when we fought that cobra-Hollow and the juggernaut? Those two were constantly charging at us without a care in the world. I'm surprised we never took advantage of their berserker-like combat sooner."

Everyone then turned back to Issei as he was down to the last Hollow. The Hollow hulk growled at Issei and charged at him with its right fist cocked back. Issei only looked at him with a neutral expression as he was waiting for the exact moment to strike. The Hollow hulk got close enough for it to flatten him its fist. Issei only went "Hmph," at this and used Shunpo to dodge the attack. He then proceeded to hack off both of its legs with one swing of his sword, making the Hollow fall on the ground face down.

Issei used Shunpo so he could get to the Hollow's head before it could try anything with one of its arms. He then used his Rook strength to plant his foot on the back of his neck to make sure it doesn't escape.

"This is where it ends! Now feel the wrath of my blade!"

With a battle cry, Issei aimed the point of his sword and used his Rook strength combined with the speed of his Shunpo to stab the Hollow through its head. The Hollow then dispersed into black particles and turned blue and flew upwards, signalling the defeat of the Hollow.

[Song end]

Issei was now heavily panting after his battle with the Hollows. He propped the sword's point onto the ground so he can rest on the hilt and keep balance due to the strong fatigue he was feeling after finishing the Hollow hulk off.

'Looks like I'm gonna need to train more with Shunpo. It can drain my stamina pretty damn quick.'

"Issei-san!"

Issei turned his head right to see Asia rushing towards him with her Twilight Healing ready to heal the nicks he's received from the mantis-Hollow. While she was healing him, he saw the rest of the Devils approach him with smiles and amazed looks.

"Well, that was super hot~," Akeno said with a giggle escaping her lips.

"I must say, that's some swordsmanship you've got there," Kiba complimented Issei with a smile and closed eyes.

"That was pretty cool, tough guy," Koneko said with an almost noticeable smile.

Issei scratched his cheek shyly in response to his comrade's compliments as he was steadily regaining his balance from using Shunpo too much.

"EEEEEEEEE! You were amazing, Hyoudou-kun!"

Issei jumped and everyone turned to see Tsubasa in a bliss while looking at Issei with stars twinkling around her.

"The way you were fighting those Hollows with that badass sword was the best thing I've ever seen in my life! And the fact that you've stayed confident through it all makes it all the more badass!"

Issei started getting flustered at Tsubasa praising him for his display in combat.

"Y-Y-You're too kind. heh heh heh."

Rias and Sona sweat dropped at Tsubasa's behavior, Koneko only looked at her with her usual neutral expression, and Saji just breathed a sigh while scratching the back of his head, while everyone else just giggled at the scene. Sona then noticed out of the corner of her eye that Tsubaki was slightly pouting at Tsubasa with light red cheeks. Sona just lets out a sigh as she knows why this is the case.

CRACK!

Everyone jumped at the sudden loud sound of cracking. Everyone was moving their heads around to see where the source of such a loud crack came from.

"Umm… Guys..."

Everyone turned to see Saji pointing towards the sky with a scared expression. They look to see where exactly he was pointing, and widened their eyes to see a large crack, literally in the sky. The cracks continued to get larger and larger until the Devils notice two pairs of claws poking out from one of the cracks.

Suddenly, the cracks from the sky have formed into a black hole, as if there was a secret opening behind it. It revealed two large hands pushing the edges of the opening open.

'Oh dear Lord...'

Issei, along with the other Devils widened their eyes further as they saw a large white thin cone slowly exiting from the opening. They then noticed two glowing red dots, one next to the cone's left, and the other, next to its right.

"This isn't good," Sona said.

"Sona," the Sitri heiress turned to see Rias looking at her with the same expression as everyone else. "Is that what I think it is?"

Sona's expression turned serious as she adjusted her glasses.

"There's no question about it, my friend."

The Devils took two steps back as they saw the rest of the white cone exit from the hole in the sky. It was revealed that it was actually the nose of a really large Hollow that had glowing red eyes instead of the usual yellow ones. Its mask was in the shape of an oval and it had human-like teeth.

"Well, Rias," Sona said while keeping her narrow eyes at the Hollow that was currently trying to get out of the hole in the sky as it expanded to the creature's size. "Looks like we got ourselves a Menos Grande."

Everyone's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their skull after the Sitri Devil confirmed the type of Hollow that was appearing before them. The only exception was Issei, as his eyes were narrowed at the now-classified Hollow.

As the Menos Grande was trying to enter the Human realm, it let out a howl that made most of the Devils cover their ears.

" **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"**

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Authors Note: Hello again folks! Phew! Two chapters of the Devil vs Hollow arc down, one more to go! The next chapter should be the last one for this arc, after that, it's back on track to the canon.**

 **Now then, I'd like to clarify some things that have happened in this chapter. Let's start off with Issei's aura, which is black and has a white outlining. Issei currently does not have control over his aura. For now, it'll only radiate from his body unconsciously or when he's in anger, as presented when he had a hard time escaping the frog-Hollow's tongue and when the witch-Hollow was explaining her past. Also, Issei has gotten use to Shunpo, but he'll feel fatigue from using it too much due to how much of his stamina is drained from it, so he'll need some more training on that. As for the ability where he was able to find his friends Reiatsu signatures and pinpoint the exact location, this ability was inspired from the scene in Bleach where Ichigo was trying to find Chad and the talking bird, and he did so by trying to find their Reiatsu. Issei was able to learn this ability by luck since he only theorized that he could also find his friends by finding their Reiatsu.**

 **The sword I had Kiba make for Issei was the large sword seen in the Highschool DXD manga where he tried to defeat Xenovia with it. I chose Kiba to give Issei that sword instead of the one seen in the season 2 anime because it looked better than the one in the anime in my opinion. And yes, this will be one of the swords Issei will be using throughout the FanFic, but I can't promise it'll stick with him forever. No, the Ascalon is not another sword I meant in "One of the swords". Yes, he will still get Ascalon, but in the future, I might have him give it to Xenovia and have her permanently keep it. What other sword will he have besides the large sword Kiba gave him? I'm keeping my mouth shut on this one.**

 **Also, a Spanish translation of the story is being done by _The Playwright's Quill_. A quick thank you to this user for making that possible.**

 **Next chapter: "The Menos Grande appears"; The Devils must find a way to defeat this behemoth of a Hollow before it goes rampant in Kuoh.**

 **Issei's current harem: Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Reya, Aika, Murayama.**

 **Until next time folks!**


	9. Chapter 8: The Menos Grande appears

_**Before we begin:**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

 **{Ddraig talking from Issei's Boosted Gear and in his Dream World.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement.}_

" **Hollow sounds/talking."**

 _ **Right, moving on!**_

 _Chapter 8: The Menos Grande appears_

* * *

The Devils were slowly backing away as the Menos Grande Hollow was entering the Human Realm through an open entrance in the sky. It wiggled its way out of the opening until its feet were visible. And with one more loud crack, the Menos Grande has now made it to the Human Realm. The part of the sky where the Hollow came from restored itself afterwards.

" **OOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"**

* * *

[Intro music: Bleach: Brave souls opening]

* * *

"Akeno! Get a barrier set up, on the double!"

"Tsubaki! You do the same! And make sure it's a strong barrier too!"

"Yes ma'am!" Akeno and Tsubaki said in unison.

The two Queens began to set up two layers of a barrier to surround the Devils and the Menos Grande. The first layer was being made by Akeno while the second layer was made by Tsubaki.

"Ise, I believe this is the time where I explain the classes of a Hollow."

Issei nodded to her while gripping his sword in his right hand.

"I'll cut stright to the point for now," Rias continued. "But those classes are normal Hollows, Demi-Hollows, Arrancars, Visoreds, and the following three Menos classes: Gillians, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lordes."

Issei then sets his stern expression at the Menos Grande who was slowly walking towards them.

"And the one we're up against is a Gillian, a Menos Grande." Rias finished, giving the Hollow the same glare as his.

"What matters now is that we need to take care of it before it finds a way to destroy the barrier!"

Rias and Issei turn to see Sona conjuring her water magic.

"Everyone stay back! Leave this Hollow to me and Rias!"

"Right!" Everyone, except for Issei and Saji said in unison.

"H-Hold on, Kaichou!" Saji said to his master with a worried expression. "Are you sure you two can handle such a large monster?!"

Sona only smirked at her male Pawn.

"Quit worrying so much. Rias and I are High Class Devils. We'll be fine."

"Your Pawn's got a point, Sona."

Sona turned her head to Rias and raised an eyebrow at her.

"While we indeed are High Class Devils, it would usually take at least more than two of them to take care of a Menos Class Hollow, especially the Menos Grande."

"And your point is?" Sona questioned with a serious gaze.

"What I'm saying is why don't we get some additional help? Maybe you can call your sister and have her take care of it?"

Sona widened her eyes for a second before they narrowed and chuckled at her friend.

"I have a reason not to call her. And what about you? Aren't you going to call your brother over for this?"

Rias closed her eyes and smirked as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"Hmph! I don't have a reason to get his help. I'd rather try handling things on my own as a grownup would."

"Hmph! Then shall we take it on together?"

"With pleasure, Sona!"

Rias unleashed her demonic power in the palm of her hands while Sona created another serpent out of her water magic. Sona sent her water serpent at the Menos Grande and wrapped it around its neck. This allowed Rias to get a better shot at the Hollow's mask. She launched her attacks at the mask and they successfully hit it.

Unfortunately, those blasts weren't powerful enough to destroy the mask. They hurt the Menos Grande, but not to the point where it could be killed.

The water serpent that had itself wrapped around the Menos Grande bitten into the mask and managed to get some tiny cracks into the mask. But, like Rias' demonic power, it wasn't powerful enough to be a killing blow.

The Menos Grande struggled to get the serpent off of itself. It kept wiggling around until it decided to use his large hands to pry the water creature off. It grabbed onto the serpant and squeezed it tightly until it popped, setting the Menos Grande free.

"Damn!" exclaimed Sona. "I was hoping we'd end this quickly."

Rias conjured up more of her demonic power.

"We can't give up now! We just need to keep blasting at that Gillian's mask until its destroyed!"

Sona looked at her friend with slightly widened eyes. She then narrowed them as she sets her sights back to the Menos Grande. She then unleashed her water magic again. This time, she wasn't creating another serpent. Instead, she's using it the same way Rias was using her demonic power to combat the Hollow.

Issei watched the two Devils' fight with the Menos Grande with worry written all over his face. While he was aware that they are High Class Devils thanks to Rias' lessons about how the Devils' ranking system works, he couldn't help but be unsure about their efforts being enough to take care of the Menos Grande. It was getting hurt by their attacks, but it was only making tiny cracks on its mask that weren't fatal enough to kill the Hollow.

As much as Issei wanted to step in and help, he decided that it was best for him to stay with the others and let his master and the president of the Student Council take care of it.

'I just hope they have enough power to kill it with just a few more blasts of their magic.'

While keeping the barrier stable, Tsubaki noticed the worried expression on Issei's face and looked at him with softened eyes. She was fascinated with how much he cares for the safety of his master.

'Hyoudou-kun...'

"Something on your mind?"

Tsubaki jumped and turned her head to see Akeno with a cute smile while she too was keeping the barrier in a stable condition.

"N-No, it's nothing," she replied with a hint of red in her cheeks.

"Oh? Are you sure? Fufufu~."

Akeno couldn't help but tease her fellow Queen. She knew exactly what Tsubaki was thinking about when he had her gaze on Issei a few seconds ago.

Tsubaki's blush turned darker as she looked away from her, trying to force her blush down and keep her serious expression intact.

"Yes, everything's fine."

"Okay then~."

After minutes of blasting the Menos Grande with their magic, Rias and Sona started to feel fatigue from using too much of their power. They were surprised to see that the its mask only has many tiny shallow cracks and hasn't busted open by now.

"This Gillian is tougher than we thought it would be," Sona said as she adjusted her glasses.

"Yeah," agreed Rias. "I myself have encountered a couple of Menos Grande when training with my brother, but this one in particular, it exceeded my expectations on how long this will take."

Suddenly, the Menos Grande stopped its walking and sets his glowing red eyes at the Devils. It just stood there motionless, making everyone wonder what that Hollow is up to. Asia was shaking from the Hollow's glare and clinged onto Issei's arm for comfort.

After a full minute of just standing there, a small black ball of energy with a thick red outlining started to take shape in front of the Gillian's closed mouth. Everyone widened their eyes as they saw the ball turn bright red five seconds later.

"A Cero!" Sona shouted.

"No way!" Rias said in disbelief. "Is it actually going to fire a Cero at us?!"

"Rias, we need to do something! Fast!"

"I know, Sona! But what _can_ we do?! We've used up nearly all of our magic energy at this point! We've also got our Queens keeping the barrier around us up! If they release it as that Gillian fires its Cero, there won't be anything left of this part of town!"

While Rias and Sona were trying to think of a way to counter the Menos Grande's Cero, Issei was looking down on the ground with a conflicted expression on his face as he was tightening the hilt of his sword in his right hand.

'Dammit! If they don't do something quick, we're all gonna die here!'

Asia noticed Issei's worried look and tugged onto his arm, getting his attention.

"Is there something we can do, Issei-san?"

Issei widened his eyes at how scared Asia looked. Her body was shaking like a ladder that's about to lose its balance.

"I'm not sure..."

Issei suddenly widened his eyes again as if he remembered something. He then looked down at his Boosted Gear with a stern look for a few seconds and nodded to himself.

Having made his decision in his mind, he set his glare towards the Menos Grande and slowly walked towards it with his sword held on tightly.

Asia looked on at Issei's actions, wondering what he plans on doing.

 _{Boost!}_

Everyone else looked towards the source of the announcement and widened their eyes to see Issei making his way towards the Menos Grande.

"Hyoudou-kun! You're not thinking about fighting that Hollow, are you?!" Tsubaki asked with worry in her voice.

Issei kept walking towards the Menos Grande, tightening his Boosted Gear covered fist.

 _{Boost!}_

"Don't worry, Shinra-senpai. I know what I am doing."

"No, Ise, Don't!" Rias shouted at her Pawn. "This isn't like your previous battle with a Fallen Angel! They're much more deadly than you think they are!"

Issei turned his head to where Rias was and looked at her with sincere eyes, followed by a confident smile.

"Never tell me the odds."

Rias widened her eyes at his sudden words.

'How can he be so confident in a situation like this?'

"Dude! You're being an idiot!"

Issei widened his eyes a little when he heard a voice from behind him. He turned his head around to see that it was Saji, who was giving him a dirty look.

"Do you really think you can kill that monster all on your own?! This ain't a fantasy, you moron! This is an actual creature we're dealing with!"

Issei only narrowed his eyes at the Sitri Pawn, not spitting out a single sentence. Tsubaki and Tsubasa were also giving Saji a glare too. While they do agree that he might not be able to take him on all by himself, they didn't like how he said it to him.

After a few more seconds of staring at Saji, Issei turned around and continued to walk towards the Menos Grande, making Saji even more baffled.

"A-A-Are you even listening to me?! As a fellow Pawn, I'm telling you that you can't-"

"Just shut up and watch, Genshiro."

Saji's eyes turned beady white and his jaw dropped at Issei's response.

"You don't even know what I'm even going to do yet, so be patient and watch closely."

[Play song: Bleach OST: on the Precipice of Defeat]

Everyone widened their eyes at Issei's explanation. What he's said has now made everyone wonder what he was going to do now. With the Menos Grande still charging up its Cero, it's only a matter of time before they get blown away to smithereens.

Issei stopped in front of the Menos Grande and looked up at its mask.

'Hey, Ddraig, you think I've boosted myself enough for this?'

 _ **{I don't know. What I'm wondering is what you're even up to.}**_

Issei smirked at the Welsh Dragon's curiosity. Issei kept his stare on the Menos Grande as he raised his left arm towards the Hollow's head and opened his hand. Everyone widened their eyes again to see that a red orb of power was conjured from the palm of Issei's hand.

 _{Explosion!}_

 _ **{Oh, that's what you plan on doing to that thing?}**_

'Yup,' replied Issei in his thoughts. 'Hopefully those boosts I've done during my previous fights with those Hollows, as well as the last two boosts should be enough to do the job.'

The Menos Grande continued to charge up its Cero until it started to slowly disappear. Everyone, except for Issei widened their eyes when they saw the Cero begin to disappear.

"He's about to fire it!" exclaimed Akeno.

 _ **{Well, what are you waiting for, partner?! Launch the Dragon shot at him before he kills you all!}**_

'Not yet,' Issei said in his mind. 'I have to wait for the right moment.'

 _ **{The right moment?}**_ Ddraig sounded confused at Issei's words.

'Don't worry, you'll see soon.'

After finishing his conversation with Ddraig, Issei looked to see that the Cero has fully disappeared from sight.

"Wait for it… Wait for it..."

The rest of the Devils raised an eyebrow at Issei's mumbling, while at the same time worrying about the Menos Grande getting ready to fire its Cero.

Issei kept his attention at the Hollow's mask while balling his left hand into a fist.

BA-BUMP...

BA-BUMP...

BA-BUMP...

Issei widened his eyes when he saw that the Menos Grande was about to open its mouth.

"NOW!"

The Menos Grande has fully opened its mouth, allowing it to fire its Cero at the Devils. Luckily, this was at the same time Issei punched his orb of power, allowing him to launch his Dragon Shot.

At the moment Issei and the Menos Grande launched their attacks, everyone had a look of disbelief when they saw that their attacks collided and clashed with one another. It was like a scene from an episode of Dragon Ball Z. The clash was so strong, it lit up the entire area bright red.

"He's not getting knocked back by the Cero?!" Sona asked with a tone of disbelief.

"Ara, ara!" Akeno commented.

Saji didn't say anything, he was left flabbergasted at Issei's ability to launch a laser beam attack and being able to block the Cero with said attack.

Rias too was taken back by Issei's actions. She knew that it was the same attack he used to kill Rika, but she had no idea it would be strong enough to counter a Cero, an attack from a Menos Grande.

Meanwhile, Issei was struggling to keep blocking the Cero blast with his Dragon Shot blast. The Cero was so strong, it forced Issei to drop his sword and hang onto his left arm so he could keep his attack steady. He also had his feet planted firmly on the ground so he can keep his Dragon Shot focused on the Cero.

Everyone could not believe what they were seeing right now. Issei, a Low-Class Devil Pawn, is currently fighting the blast of the Cero with his Dragon Shot blast to keep the others safe. What makes this even more insane to them is that he wasn't immediately defeated by the Menos Grande. He was still standing his ground and fighting the pressure of the Cero in hopes that he will destroy it and finish off the Hollow.

'This is incredible!' Sona exlaimed in her thoughts, being the most surprised of all of the Devils. 'It would usually take at least three to four High-Class Devils to put up a fight against a Menos Grande. But Hyoudou-san's countering its Cero all on his own!'

Sona then widened her eyes further as she took a closer look at Issei's Dragon Shot.

'Wait! That's the exact same attack he used to save Tsubaki from that one Hollow that was about to cut her in half! And yet… He's using that same attack to counter something like _this_?!'

Sona set her astonished eyes at Rias, who was looking at her Pawn with worry and amusement on her face.

'Rias Gremory, just who in the name of Maou did you reincarnate?!'

"Grrrrr!"

Everyone widened their eyes further once more to see that Issei was beginning to struggle with the Cero blast. His legs were shaking to the point where there's a good chance he'll be knocked down and obliterated. The remaining right half of the shirt was torn off by the gusting wind caused by the blast.

"Ise!"

"Issei-kun!"

"Issei-san!"

"Hyoudou-kun!"

Rias, Akeno, Asia, and Tsubaki shouted the young man's name, fearing that this might be the end of him.

Issei was now forced into a squatting position. He knew that the Cero would be really strong, but he didn't expect it to be _this_ strong.

But Issei wouldn't give up. Not by a long shot. While growling at the Menos Grande, He used his Rook promotion's strength to slowly get back into a standing position. And to everyone's surprise, he was doing just that. It wasn't easy, of course. The Cero was still pressuring him to the ground, but thanks to the strength of his Rook promotion, He was able to resist its power.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRR! RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Using all of his remaining strength, Issei moved his left fist forward towards his Dragon Shot, and the results left everyone watching him speechless.

The Dragon Shot Has fully engulfed the Cero and went straight towards the Menos Grande's body and landed a direct hit on the Hollow's chest.

[End song]

Everyone's eyes have widened to the size of saucers when the saw what just happened. What made them even more shocked is that the Menos Grande was actually bleeding from the wound in the chest caused by the Dragon Shot.

The Hollow was howling in pain as its blood was spurting from the rather large wound. It then fell on one knee with its head lowered to the level of the Devils' height.

Issei was now breathing heavily after he successfully after he succeeded in wounding the Menos Grande. After ten seconds of said breathing. He smirked to himself as he slowly crouched down to pick up his large sword.

"I… I don't believe it..." Rias was awestruck at the current state the Menos Grande was in. And it was all thanks to Issei's new attack; the same attack used to save Tsubaki from a previous Hollow.

"H-H-Holy shit..." was all Saji could say as he was flabbergasted at what just happened.

"Amazing..." Reya commented with light red cheeks.

"Hyoudou-kun..." Tsubaki looked at Issei with softened eyes and some pink dusting her cheeks.

Tsubasa didn't say anything. She was too busy staring at Issei's fully naked upper body with a dark blush and a nose bleed.

'Such power...' Sona said in her mind with shock and amusement visible on her face. 'It's unbelievable how that beam conjured up by Hyoudou-san's Boosted Gear could be powerful enough to not only counter the Menos Grande's Cero, but to engulf it and be powerful enough to fatally wound it?'

Sona the placed a hand on her chin while keeping her eyes on Issei.

'I wonder… Is Hyoudou-san's beam…'

"Alright!"

Sona was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Issei speak. Everyone widened their eyes to see that he was holding onto the hilt of his sword tightly while looking at the wounded Menos Grande.

"Let's finish this!"

 _{Boost!}_

The Devils' eyes have widened further when they saw Issei run towards the Hollow with his sword ready with a battle cry.

"Ise, No!" Rias tried to call to her Pawn, but it was too late. Issei was already about to be near the Menos Grande.

"Don't worry! I'll be fine! I just need to boost up some more!"

 _{Boost!}_

"That's not enough! Just a couple more! Power up, boost!"

 _{Boost!}_

"Alright! Just one more! Dragon Boost!"

 _{Boost!}_

The Menos Grande noticed the brown-haired Devil charging at him and raised it's right arm and extended his hand towards the boy, hoping to catch it before he could try anything.

"Issei-san! Watch out!" Asia shouted.

Issei only smirked while the Hollow hand was now near him.

"Ise!"

"Issei-kun!"

"Issei!"

"Issei-senpai!"

"Issei-san!"

The Gremory Devils were now afraid for their fellow Devil as the Menos Grande's hand was slowly closing, intending to trap Issei in its grasp.

'Alright, Ddraig, we only got one shot at this! Is it possible for me to transfer the boosted power to the sword in the current condition?'

 _ **{Yes. Despite all of the beatings you've got from the previous three Hollows, you're able to do it. But make it count, partner! I can't guarantee that you'll be able to boost up more and transfer power to the blade again if you miss your swing.}**_

Issei's smirk grew wider at the information as the Menos Grande's hand was nearly closed.

As soon as the Hollow closed it. It widened its glowing red eyes to see that its victim was not in its hand.

The Devils sighed a breath of relief as they saw Issei use his Shunpo to escape its hand.

Issei was now in the air with his sword held above his head.

"Here goes nothing! Boosted Gear Gift!"

 _{Transfer!}_

The Devils looked on to see Issei's sword now having an emerald green outlining around the blade.

"Did Issei's Sacred Gear say what I think it just said?" Kiba asked with a surprised expression.

"Ise..." Rias, along with the rest of the Devils were surprised at the Boosted Gear's call.

With one last battle cry, Issei used the strength of the Rook promotion to swing his sword downwards at the Menos Grande's mask. The blade then collided with the mask with a loud ca-chink noise.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

At that moment, everyone's eyes have almost popped out of their sockets at what they've just witnessed.

" **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"**

The Menos Grande began to howl in agony as Issei's sword has successfully shattered its mask into pieces.

After it howled a gust of wind came from the cracks of the mask and blew Issei away from the Hollow, causing him to tumble back towards the rest of the Devils with his sword landing right next to him.

Issei picked up his sword and got into a crouching position while holding onto the hilt, with the point of the blade touching the ground. He then widened his eyes at how the Menos Grande was dying.

Instead of just simply bursting into particles and turning light-blue and fly up the sky, it was something a little different. While the body was dispersing into particles, Issei has noticed a light-blue ooze of light coming out of the shattered mask. The light then formed into a miniature tornado while the black particles were bonding with it, resulting them turning into the same blue color as the tornado.

After fifteen more seconds have passed, the light-blue light then flew upwards like a rocket and disappeared without a trace.

The Menos Grande has been defeated.

Issei was breathing quiet, but heavy breaths while looking at the spot the blue light traveled to.

"Well… That's something I won't be unseeing for a while."

Issei chuckled while a trickle of blood started to flow down his forehead.

"Ah! Issei-san, you're bleeding!"

Asia ran to Issei's side and placed her hands in front of Issei's forehead. She then activated her Twilight Healing to take care of the minor injury.

"Heh heh. Thanks for that Asia," Issei said while beginning to feel drousy. "I really… appreciate…"

Asia gasped when she saw Issei slowly close his eyes and rest his head on the hilt of his sword, surprising everyone else.

"Issei-san! Are you okay?!"

"It's alright, Asia-san."

Asia turned her head to see Kiba smiling at her.

"He's just tired from all of the fighting he's done. He'll be alright."

Kiba then sets his sights on the sword Issei was resting his head on.

"Still, it really is amazing he's able to wield that sword like one would use a katana."

Everyone slightly widened their eyes when they heard the sound of snoring coming from the brown-haired boy, earning a giggle from Rias, Akeno, Reya, and Tsubasa.

'Oh Ise, what am I going to do with you?'

Rias looked at her Pawn with soft eyes and a smile. She was happy to see that Issei will live another day. She was also proud of him for being able to put up a swell fight with the Hollows, and witnessing him defeat a Menos Grande made her even more glad she made him her servant.

Kiba and Koneko were also impressed with Issei's fight. When they first witnessed his strength, it was only through how he took care of school bullies and the Perverted Duo. But now, they know that there's more to his strength than that.

Even the Sitri Devils were astonished with his skill in combat. Saji was a little jealous of the Gremory Pawn, Momo, Ruruko, and Tomoe were impressed with him, so was Reya except her cheeks had a tinge of pink while he was looking at the sleeping Devil, And Tsubasa was still thinking about how sexy he looked without a shirt on.

Tsubaki too was amazed with Issei's hard work. And the fact that he did it to protect his friends made her feel warm inside.

"Isn't he adorable when he's asleep?"

Tsubaki snapped her head towards where the source of the talking came from and widened her eyes to see Akeno smiling at her with closed eyes and blushed a light shade of red.

"Wh-Wh-Why are you asking _me_ that?!"

"Well, the way you were looking at him made me curious."

Akeno giggled when she saw her fellow Queen's blush turn darker and look away in response to her answer.

Meanwhile, Rias and Sona were holding a conversation of their own.

"Well, this day was full of surprises wasn't it?" Rias asked her friend.

"Indeed, it was."

Sona turned her head to where the damaged caused by the Hollows were and adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I guess I'll get my servants to work on cleaning up this mess. Don't want anyone getting any funny ideas on what just happened here."

Rias looked at the damages and nodded.

"Yeah, it's looks pretty bad."

"Yup. And while we're at it, I assume you're going to report all of this to the Maou?"

Rias laughed at Sona's question and grinned.

"I was way ahead of you on that, Sona. But first,"

Rias then set her attention to where Issei was. He was still asleep on the hilt of his sword while in a crouching position.

"I've got to carry a certain someone home."

Sona chuckled with her friend and placed her fingers on her glasses again.

"Then I'll leave you to it."

Sona then turned towards her servants and got her attention.

"Alright, everyone! Let's get to work!"

"Yes ma'am!" The Sitri Devils said in unison as they began to conjure up their magic to clean up the damage.

* * *

Issei slowly opened his eyes and widened a little when he found himself in a familiar dark blue city. He then sighed when he realized that he was now in his Dream World.

"Damn. I've must've passed out after the fight I had with that Menos Grande."

Issei then turned towards a dark blue tower and walked towards it. Having remembered the other times he was here when he was asleep, Issei placed his right foot on the wall and held it there for a few seconds. He then lifted his other foot and placed it on the wall too. And as he expected, he was now standing on the wall.

After he got his bearings on the wall, he began to walk while looking at the clouds that have formed in his world. He continued walking until he made it to the top of the building. He then fell forwards with his left foot sticking out so it could touch the top, allowing him to stand on that platform now.

Issei then made his way to the middle of the top and sat down.

"Wow, I've been in my dream world for a few days now, and I still can't get used to how I can walk on anything. It's really trippy."

Issei looks upwards towards the sky to see more clouds flying across the sky.

"Well, at least everything's taken care of now."

 **{Hello again, Issei Hyoudou.}**

Issei turned his head left and saw Ddraig sitting on another building that was next to the one Issei was on.

"Hello to you too, Ddraig," Issei greeted with a smile and slight wave of his hand. "So, what's up?"

 **{Well, I thought I'd tell you how impressed I was with your fight yesterday.}**

Issei chuckled at his answer.

"I wonder how many times I've been praised by you so far? You told me how unique I was from previous hosts, and that I keep impressing you by the moment."

 **{Ha ha! What can I say? For a human reincarnated into a Devil, you've got quite the potential.}**

Issei lifts his left hand towards his face and balls it into a fist a couple of times while recalling his previous fights.

"Well, you do have a point on that."

 **{But, this doesn't mean things will get easier. I'm sure you're aware of this, correct?}**

Issei nodded his head in response.

"I've been aware of that fact for a while now. Why ask?"

 **{Just wanted to make sure. Because not only will stronger enemies appear, but eventually, you will encounter the White Guy.}**

"The White Guy?" Issei raised an eyebrow at the name. "Who the Hell's that?"

 **{Unfortunately, I can't tell you because you're not ready to know the full story. And even if you were, you're about to wake up from your Dream World.}**

Issei deadpanned at the Welsh Dragon.

"You're saying that just to foreshadow something, aren't you?"

 **{Until we speak to each other again, partner.}**

Issei widened his eyes with furrowed eyebrows.

"Hey! That's not the answer I was looking for!"

* * *

Issei shot his eyes open, awakening from his slumber. He then looked around with his head to see that he was home in his bedroom.

"Someone among the ORC group must've carried me back here."

Issei then turned his head left to see what time it was and the clock read 5:25 AM.

"I woke up early again..." Issei sighed out.

Before doing anything else, Issei decided to check under his covers to see if he was naked or not. Upon lifting them up, he saw that he was only stripped to just his boxer shorts.

"Who the Hell stripped me out of my clothes?" he wondered, being a little freaked out that someone took the time to strip him. He then noticed his school clothes stacked and folded neatly.

As he was about to climb out of bed to get dressed and wait for six AM, he found himself unable to move due to something hanging onto his arm, causing him to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What the… It feels soft too..."

Realization plastered his face as he slowly, but gently removed the covers off of his bed. He widened his eyes and blushed to see a naked Rias Gremory sleeping on his bed for the second time so far. Upon further inspection, his blush turned darker when he saw that she held her arm held in between her breasts. After his eyes met with her boobs, Issei immediately turned away from her while feeling more flustered by the second.

'Oh man! How am I going to get out of this one?!'

"Mmm~."

Issei's eyes widened again as she heard Rias stir awake. She fluttered her eyes and smiled when she saw Issei sitting on the bed.

"Good morning, Ise."

"Oh! Um… Good morning to you too, Buchou."

Rias giggled at how shy he sounded when he returned the greeting.

Swallowing a lump, Issei looked at her straight in the eye while his blush was still on his cheeks.

"Um… Buchou… Why are you-"

"Naked?"

Issei's blush began to rival the color of a tomato and looked away from her after she finished his sentence, making her release another giggle from her lips.

"You see, Ise, I can't sleep unless I'm completely naked. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

"Oh, well… Okay. But… Why are you here in my bed."

As soon as he finished his sentence, Issei widened his eyes once more when he was embraced by his master. His face was about to rival the same color as her hair thanks to her bare breasts being pressed against his bare chest.

"I was so worried about you yesterday. Because of those events, I let my fear get the best of me and decided to crash at your place for the night."

Trying to stay calm, and conscious due to the skin-to-skin contact flustering him greatly, Issei asked her more questions he wanted answered.

"So… Do my parents know you're here?"

"They do," Rias replied smiling. "I've brought you home since you were asleep after your battle with the Menos Grande. Of course, I've had to tell your parents a different reason to why you fell asleep, and I've told them that you've overworked yourself during club activities. After I explained it to them, they've offered me to stay the night in your home since it was rather late."

"I see." Issei blushed once more. "So you were the one who stripped me, eh?"

Rias giggled at her Pawn's question while her cheeks turned light red.

"Guilty as charged."

Issei sighed at her answer.

"Well, at least you were honest."

Issei felt Rias loosen her hug on him, making him look back at her beautiful blue-green eyes.

Rias then flicked him on the forehead, making him rub it after he felt slight pain from it. He then looked back at her to see that she was now holding a pout.

"I still don't like how you were reckless with those three Hollows."

Issei sighed again while scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry. I just wanted to protect you guys. Even though it's only been a week since I've been a Devil, I've grown to accept you guys as my friends and comrades."

Rias sighed at his response and crossed her arms under her bust.

"Look, while I do want you to be strong, I want you to do so without going to that length, okay? You did promise after all."

Issei blinked twice and nodded to her.

"I know, Buchou."

Rias allowed her lips to curl upwards as Issei went to his desk where his school clothes were and started getting dressed.

"You might as well get dressed too, Buchou. I don't want anyone getting the wrong Idea. Especially my parents."

Rias giggled at how Issei said the last sentence because of how annoyed he looked while saying it. She then got up from the bed and picked her clothes up from the floor next to it and started getting dressed herself.

While she was doing so, she took a quick look at Issei and softened her eyes.

'You're steadily becoming a very strong Pawn, Ise.'

* * *

After Issei finished another day of school, he and Asia made their way to the Occult Research Club to meet with their fellow Devils and wait for any clients to summon one of the Devils. When the two arrived they saw that only Rias was in the room.

"Ah, good evening, Ise and Asia-chan."

"Yes, hello, Buchou," Asia greeted back.

"I assume everyone else is out doing their pacts?" Issei asked.

"They are."

Rias then set her blue-green eyes on Issei and smiled.

"Speaking of pacts, you came just at the right time. There's a client that's calling for a male Devil, and Kiba had another pact to go to."

Issei widened his eyes a little.

"Really?"

"Indeed," replied Rias. "In fact, you can head there right now and try to score another pact. Do you want to go for it?"

Issei nodded his head while smiling.

"Of course, I want to do what I can to make the client happy."

Rias smiled at his resolve.

"Splendid, I'll go ahead and get a transportation circle ready."

Rias stood up from her desk and walked in the middle of the room. She then used her magic to summon the transportation circle to allow Issei to teleport to his next client.

After she got it ready, Issei walked to the circle and waited to be engulfed by its light so it can send him to the client.

"Good luck, Issei-san," Asia said to him smiling. "I hope you do well."

Issei smiled back at her.

"Thanks, Asia."

"Make me proud out there, Ise," Rias ordered. "I can't wait to see the end result of your job."

Issei turned his head to Rias and nodded to her.

"I'll be sure to do my best."

"That's the spirit. Now, get going."

With that said, Issei allowed himself to be engulfed by the red light from the circle.

POOF!

* * *

After the transportation was complete, Issei opened his eyes and looked around the room he was currently in.

'Hmm… Judging by the pink wallpaper, and the posters that girls usually get, I'm guessing it was a girl who summoned me.'

Realizing who he thought summoned him, he shivered a little.

'I don't know why, but I'm kinda worried about what this girl wants me to do. I mean, what if it's another-'

"Well, well, well, so you're the one I summoned, eh?"

Issei widened his eyes after he heard someone talk to him.

'That voice!'

Issei slowly turned around to see who that recognizable voice belonged to. When he did, he couldn't believe who he was seeing.

"A-A… Aika-san?!"

The girl who giggled at his shocked reaction, was indeed the girl who goes to the same school, in the same class as he does. She was currently wearing a black T-shirt that had the words "Star Wars" on it with white dots decorating the shirt as stars and brown short pants.

"Fufufu~. I must admit, I didn't expect you, of all people to be a Devil."

Issei stuttered as he was recovering from his shock that it was her that summoned him here.

"L-L-Look, it's complicated! I don't know how to explain it to you! I-I-I-"

Aika lifted her hand towards Issei, silencing him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go crazy about this. In fact, I kinda knew they existed to begin with."

Issei had a lot of question marks popping out of his head while his jaw dropped and his eyes turned beady white.

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH?!"

Aika giggled at his reaction.

"Yup, it's true. You see, While I was walking to school, I noticed out of the corner of my eye some magic circle appearing on someone's floor of the house from his uncovered window. After it flashed brightly, out came the Lost Prince of Kuoh."

Issei widened his eyes at her explanation on her discovery of Devils, and possibly the other factions existing.

"The circle actually looked like the one that was used to bring you here too, confirming my suspicion on Devils existing being a reality."

"Um, you didn't tell anyone about what you saw did you?" Issei asked curiously. After finding out that she saw Kiba doing his Devil job, he was afraid that she may have spread the word about it.

"Don't worry, Issei-kun, You and Yuuto-kun's identities are safe," Aika assured him waving her hand. "I'd never tell them even if I wanted to. They'd think I've lost my mind or something like that."

Issei sighed a breath of relief, incredibly thankful that she didn't spill the beans.

"So, how did you get a flier?"

"Oh, this?" Aika picked up the flier from her desk and showed it to him. "I found it in my mailbox while I was checking the mail after school. When I took it out of the box, I only propped it on my desk and left it there until I got curious and used it today."

After hearing her explanation, Issei deadpanned to himself as he realized something.

'Oh, right… I forgot that I've placed some of those fliers in mailboxes too...'

Breathing out another sigh, Issei looks back at Aika and scratches the back of his head.

"So, you know how this works? Or do you want me to explain it to you?"

"Well, I've got the general idea from it. After summoning a Devil, you tell him or her what you want from it and he or she will grant it to you, but at a price, yes?"

Issei nodded in response to her question.

"Yeah. Except instead of your soul, Devils nowadays accept either one's personal belongings, or at least 5,000 Yen."

Aika placed a hand on her chin thinking over what Issei just said. After taking her time, she smiled and sets her sights on Issei.

"Alright, I've made my decision."

"Oh? What's up?"

Suddenly, Issei widened his eyes and his cheeks turned red when she saw Aika stick out her feet in front of him. She wasn't wearing any foot wear, making Issei's blush turn darker.

"For my wish, I want you to give me a good foot rub. Both of my feet."

Issei swallowed a lump in his throat as Aika started wiggling her toes.

"Th-That's it? You just want me to massage your feet?"

Aika nodded with a smile on her face.

"Yup. You do that, and I'll make a contract with you. We are friends after all, so it should be a good deal for you. A pleasant deal at that~."

Aika said the last sentence in a perverted tone as she wiggled her big toes and index toes, making a slight snapping and flicking sound out of them.

Issei blushed another dark shade of red and took a deep breath, feeling nervous about this. This was his first time doing a foot massage. Heck, it was his first time doing a massage period. At first, he wasn't sure if he'll be able to do a good job with the massage, but he wanted to make Rias proud and score another contract.

Seeing Issei acting shy made Aika giggle. She knew that her bare feet were turning him on from the expressions he had earlier and how he was staring at them. She even took a quick look down his crotch to see that his little fella rising up a little, making her cheeks turn slightly red. And thanks to the way she wiggled her toes earlier, she's got him right where she wants him.

After snapping out of his shyness, Issei looked at her with serious eyes.

"Alright, I'll do it. But you have to give something up in order to get it. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know the drill."

Aika moved her chair with wheels towards one of her desk's drawers and opened it. She dug around in it for a few seconds and smiled widely when she found what she was looking for. She closed the drawer and presented the item to Issei.

"Put this around your neck. I think it would look nice on you."

Issei looked at the object and was amazed with it. It was a rope necklace that had a sapphire crystal.

"Wow. It looks cool. You're giving me this for the contract?"

"Of course I am." Aika answered with a smile. "Go on, put it on."

Accepting her offer, Issei took the necklace from her and put it around his neck. After he did so, he looked down at the crystal and smiled to himself, thinking about how cool it looked on him.

"Now then, on with my wish, you handsome Devil~."

Issei looked back at Aika and saw that she had her right foot out, spreading her toes repeatedly while keeping her smile intact.

"But don't try anything naughty while granting my wish~. Fufufufufu~."

Issei sighed at her and her perverted behavior. Don't get him wrong, he believes everyone can be perverted in their own way, as long as it's controlled and that person is respectful to one's privacy. Matsuda and Motohama are terrible examples of this.

"Alright, let's get to it," Issei said as she approached her and knelt in front of her to get to the level of her feet. "I have to warn you though, it's my first time doing a massage on any part of a body, so don't expect it to be special or anything."

"Fufufu~. I'm sure you'll do fine. I'm in your care."

Issei grabbed her right foot with both hands and started massaging it. Going with his instincts, he used his four fingers to rub the top of her foot while he used his thumbs in a circular motion to rub the sole. Issei held a slightly surprised expression when he felt how soft her foot was. It was like handling a specially made pillow designed to feel soft.

Aika started blushing a light shade of red when she was feeling Issei's hands and fingers rubbing her foot. The soothing touch of Issei's hands and fingers were making her feel relaxed. She was surprised with how good the massage felt to her, and she didn't want him to stop anytime soon.

"Hey, Issei-kun," Aika got Isse's attention as he looked up at her while continuing to rub her foot.

"So, were you always a Devil when you transferred to Kuoh Academy?"

Issei moved his eyes down after he was asked that question.

"I was reincarnated."

"Reincarnated?" Aika asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You see, after I've been at the school for a week, a Fallen Angel with orange hair attacked me."

Aika widened her eyes when she was told that he was attacked. She then narrowed them while placing a hand on her chin.

"Hmm, I knew other factions would exist if Devils were to be real too."

Aika then sets her eyes back at Issei.

"So, why was this Fallen Angel attacking you?"

Issei took some time to think about what he should say. While Aika does now know that the three factions: Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels exist, he wasn't sure if he should go into detail about the whole Sacred Gear thing or not.

After sighing, this is what Issei decided to tell her.

"Well, she wanted to kill me because I have something that some humans have called a Sacred Gear. She was afraid of its power, so she decided to kill me just to be safe. And she did just that."

"Damn," Aika had softened eyes as she found out that he was killed. She felt bad that he had to fall victim to such a being.

"So, did you sell your soul to the Devil to be reincarnated? Or something like that?"

"Um… No, that's not how it worked."

"Oh. Sorry. I'm used to what I've heard in folklore. So, how did it work?"

"Well, it's complicated," Issei answered as he moved on to massage her left foot. "All I can tell you is that people are reincarnated into Devils with magical Chess pieces called 'Evil Pieces'. There are multiple Devils called High-Class Devils that use them to reincarnate them into their servants in a way."

"Really?" Aika was amused with the information she was given. "And I'm guessing they operate like how you and Kiba-kun do too? You know, instead of taking souls to grant one's wish, the person you're granting the wish needs to pay cash or a personal belonging."

"Yup. Think of it as 'Modern Devil Logic' or something like that."

Aika nodded her head slowly while thinking the information over.

"But why are the Chess pieces called 'Evil Pieces'? You guys don't seem to be behaving evilly after you've got them in your bodies to reincarnate."

Issei chuckled.

"I don't know. Maybe to sound cool or nod at the logic used in fantasies."

Aika shared a laugh with Issei at his guesses. Aika then looked back at Issei.

"Oh yeah, one more question. Sorry if I'm asking too much by the way."

Issei shook his head with an assuring smile.

"No, it's alright. What's up?"

"Well, you also said that 'High-Class Devils use these Chess pieces to reincarnate them into Devils and make them their servants."

Issei nodded in response.

"What about it?"

Aika couldn't help but giggle before moving on with her question.

"This is just out of curiosity. You, Kiba-kun, and Rias-senpai don't actually do any foreplay or something like that, do you?"

Issei widened his eyes as his cheeks flushed red and squeezed her foot a little.

"What?! No! Of course not! It's not like that at all!"

Aika laughed at his reaction while wincing a little at his slightly tight squeeze.

"You really are fun to tease, you know that?"

Issei pouted at her.

"Very funny. I get that a lot." Issei grumbled while recalling the times Akeno has teased him.

He then widened his eyes again as he remembered Aika saying something else in her question.

"Wait! How do you know Buchou's a Devil?"

"Just a hunch," she replied with shrugged shoulders. "Besides, someone had to be your master. And since you and Kiba-kun go to the ORC every day after school, I just simply guessed she was one too."

Aika's smile grew wider as he was looking at the surprised Issei.

"And you, my friend, have confirmed my guess."

Issei sighed at her as she continued massaging her foot.

"You're really good at massaging."

Issei looked up and blushed a light pink at the cute face she was making when she complimented him.

"Really? I mean, I'm not that good. Like I said, it's my first time."

"Well, your first time was a good one," Aika assured him. "Your massage feels amazing, and I wish it could last forever."

Issei couldn't help but chuckle at how kind she was to him. Even though she found out that he, along with Kiba, Rias, and possibly Akeno, Koneko, and Asia too, are Devils, she still sees him as a person and a friend.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

The two widened their eyes when they heard the sound of buzzing.

"Ah, crap," Issei said as he pulled a black circular device from his pocket. This was the same device that showed him a digital map to pinpoint potential clients.

"I forgot to mention," Issei said while scratching the back of his head. "Our time with the client is on a timer, and my time here's up."

"Aww," Aika made a mock disappointed face. "I was hoping it would last a little longer."

"Heh heh. Yeah, sorry about that. Maybe we'll meet again next time?"

"Why of course," Aika replied enthusiastically. "If anything, you might as well make me your regular."

Issei sweat dropped while blushing a light shade of red.

"Well, I do have other contracts to do, so I can't promise I'll be there for you every single day."

"Hmm..."

Aika was now in a thinking pose. Issei raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she's thinking about.

"Alright, I've got it!"

"Eh?"

Aika went to the flier she was given and wrote down her review, as instructed on the back of it.

"Tell you what, on Fridays and Saturdays, I get to have you as my Devil, sound good?"

Issei widened his eyes a little at her suggestion. He then took some time to think about it as the transportation circle formed behind him, ready to take him back to the ORC room. He now has two pacts, the Dragon Ball Z fan, and now his classmate, Aika Kiryuu. Since he did have a hard time meeting demands with some pacts, especially that… thing…, he thought it was a reasonable idea.

"Yeah, I think that'll work just fine."

Aika and Issei shared a smile with each other as they are now in an agreement on when the two should meet for his Devil job. After it was taken care of, Issei went to the transportation circle and waited for it to bring him back to the club room.

"Hey, Issei-kun," Aika got his attention again as he looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"If you need help with anything, be sure to let me know. I'll try to help out however I can."

Issei smiled and closed his eyes as he scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks, Aika-san, but I think I can handle myself out there."

Aika giggled at his reply and waved him goodbye.

"Until we see each other again, you handsome Devil~."

Issei's face flushed red at what she called him and returned a wave back.

"Y-Yeah. See ya."

POOF!

Issei has now teleported away back to his master. Aika allowed her lips to curl upwards as she propped her feet on her desk.

"Those next days with him are going to be very fun. Fufufufu~."

* * *

POOF!

Issei returned from Aika's home, successfully scoring another pact.

"Ah, you've returned," Rias said as she was sitting in her desk.

"Welcome back, Issei-san," Asia greeted.

"Good to see you again," Kiba said with his usual smile.

"Yo," Koneko said while she was snacking on some potato chips.

"Ara, you made it back," Akeno said in a teasing tone.

"Oh, hey folks," Issei greeted back.

"So, how did it go?"

Issei turned to Rias as he smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, well,-"

"Ooh, that's a pretty necklace!"

Issei and Rias turned to Asia to see that she was staring at the sapphire crystal around his neck. Everyone else, including Rias took a look at the necklace, making Issei get a little nervous.

"Ara ara, that's a beautiful crystal," commented Akeno. "Where did you get it, Issei-kun?"

Issei scratched the back of his head with pink dusting his cheeks.

"Oh, that's something I got as a price for my second pact."

Rias widened her eyes a little for a second and then smiled to him.

"So, the pact was a success?"

"Yup," Issei replied, returning a smile.

"What did the client want you to do?" Kiba asked curiously.

Issei's cheeks turned a little red after he asked him that question. Before he could answer, a paper appeared on Rias' desk, prompting her to read it.

After she took her time with the paper, Rias looked up at Issei and sent him another smile.

"You did a great job, Ise. I'm very impressed."

"Oh, thanks Buchou. Heh heh heh."

"So? What does it say?" Asia asked.

"It's a review from the client about how the Devil they summoned performed," explained Rias. "After a Devil finishes a job, the client writes a review about how they did."

Rias then turned her head back to Issei.

"Here you go, Ise, have a look at what she said."

Issei took the review from her hand and read what it said.

" _He did a swell job. He's also really good with massages, especially with the foot massage I requested from him. Can't wait to see him again on Fridays and Saturdays."_

"Ara ara, you simply gave her a foot rub to get the pact~?"

"GAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Issei screamed as he jumped in the air and landed after hearing Akeno's sultry voice in his ear.

"Ufufufufu~. Did I scare you, honey?"

"Um… I guess you can say that." Issei replied with a face as red as Rias' hair. He continued acting shy because of Akeno calling him 'honey'.

"Goodness, Ise," Issei turned his head to Rias, who was giggling at him. "You really do get flustered that easily, don't you?"

"To think a tough guy can be this shy."

Issei sweat dropped when he heard Koneko say that.

"It's a natural reaction, Koneko-chan."

Koneko didn't respond to him. She just continued eating her potato chips silently.

"Oh yeah, Issei," Kiba got Issei's attention now.

"There's something I've been meaning to present to you once you got back from your client."

"Really?" Issei was curious about what Kiba wanted to show him. "What is it?"

Kiba only smiled as he began to step aside. As he did so, Issei widened his eyes.

What Issei saw was a large sword sheathed in a brown scabbard that had a black belt and giant red ribbon on the scabbard.

"Wait… Is that..."

"Take a look for yourself, my friend."

Issei approached the sheathed sword and grabbed it by the hilt. Issei widened his eyes a little as he recognized the handling weight of the blade. He then checked out what the blade looked like by slightly pulling it out, making sure the rest of the blade is in the scabbard. As he did so, he widened his eyes further when he discovered that it was the same sword he used to fight those Hollows with his friends and defeat that Menos Grande. He didn't have to pull it out all the way, the yellow marking on the side of the blade was all he needed to know that it was that sword.

"Dude, you've saved this for me?" Issei asked Kiba as he sheathed the blade back in the scabbard.

"Well, after seeing you wield it with such skill, and that you were able to defeat a Menos Grande class Hollow, I didn't see why not for you to keep the sword."

Issei couldn't help but allow his lips to curl upwards. He had the most widest smile he's ever given to anyone.

"That's really badass man. Thank you very much for the sword."

Kiba smiled back with closed eyes.

"Anytime, pal. If the sword gets broken, just let me know and I'll get it fixed up."

Issei nodded to him as he lied the sheathed sword down next to him.

"Well, I guess a congratulations is needed."

"Eh?" Issei raised an eyebrow at Rias' words. "What do you mean, I only scored a second pact, it's not anything spec-"

The next thing Issei knew was that he was now trapped in Rias' grasp from behind as she gave him a hug, making him blush while she was doing so.

Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba held surprised reactions at their master's actions, while Asia was looking on with light red puffy cheeks.

"Um… Buchou… You do realize everyone's watching, right?"

"You really did great tonight. Keep up the good work, okay?"

Issei held a surprised expression on how Rias said it. She said it as if she were a big sister to him, or something like that.

"Also, as a reminder, don't act reckless because of something you believe you caused."

Issei blinked once. Then twice. Then a third time. He then let a small smile form from his lips.

"Yeah, you got it."

Akeno looked on at the scene with an interested look.

'No way! Rias is totally into him!'

She then smiled at Issei while placing a hand on her cheek with a tinge of pink to them.

'Looks like I've got me some competition~. Ufufufu~.

 _ **Hollow Battle Arc: The End…**_

* * *

 _ **~OVA Epilogue time! Whee!~**_

Issei was walking down the Hallway to find the scores of the mid-term exam and see how he did on it. He took as much time as possible to be prepared for those head aching tests, and he was hoping he at least got a passing grade.

"Hey man, how'd you think you did on the exams?" A male student asked his friend.

"I'm not sure. I'm a little nervous just thinking about it."

Issei finally made it to the scoreboard and read through the names to find his.

"Well, well, who do we have here?"

'Oh no…'

Issei groaned as he recognizes the voice he heard. He turned around to see that it was none other than the infamous Perverted Duo.

"What the Hell do you guys want?"

"Oh nothing much," Motohama replied as he adjusted his glasses with his index finger. "I just strolled by to see if I made it on the scoreboard, along with my pal here too."

"That's right," Matsuda said, wrapping his arm around his friend. "We're not sure why you're here though. Knowing you, you're someone who beats up bullies. Because of your constant fighting with them, we highly doubt that _you_ would make it on the scoreboard."

"Um, Ahem..."

Issei deadpanned at them while pointing his thumb towards the scoreboard.

The two perverts widened their eyes in disbelief when they found Issei's name on the scoreboard.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! YOU'RE RANKED #3?!"

All students male and female turned to Issei's direction as they heard Motohama scream out Issei's rank. The students then whispered to each other about Issei's ranking. Some were jealous, and others were amazed while they were looking on at Issei.

"No way! That's insane!" Matsuda retorted while pointing a finger at him. "How can you, a punk who beats up bullies score so high?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Issei asked with his deadpan still intact. "I've studied."

The perverted duo face faulted at his nonchalant answer while the rest of the students, mostly the girls, were talking about how perverted and disgusting the two were, and on how smart, cute, and handsome Issei was.

"Oh! I see!" Matsuda shouted, springing up from his face fault. "It all makes sense now! You're a Nerdy Punk!"

Hearing this from a perverted baldy caused Issei to form a tick mark on his head with gritted teeth. Issei then widened his eyes when he suddenly got up in his face with a pair of nerd glasses.

"Here! I've got you some nerdy glasses for you to wear, Nerdy Punk!"

POW!

"No thanks."

Issei gave Matsuda a backhanded fist to his face, breaking the nerd glasses and knocking the bald pervert out cold in the process. He proceeded to blush a light shade of red when he saw some girls giggle at his actions with rather twinkly eyes.

"Wow, you've made it to the high ranks. Way to go, Issei-kun."

Issei turned his head right and smiled at the source of the recognizable voice.

"Oh, hey there, Asia, Katase-san, Murayama-san."

"Hi, Issei-san," Asia greeted with a wave.

"Hello..." was all Murayama could say as she currently has a deep bright blush on her cheeks.

"Umm… Are you okay, Murayama-san?" Issei asked, worried about her.

"Oh! I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that your cheeks are really red, so I thought-"

Murayama's face has now turned completely red, the shade of a tomato.

"Oh, well, um-um-um-um… I got to get ready for the Kendo club! I'll go on without you Katase! Bye Issei-kun! And congratulations!"

Murayama took of as fast as she could from the area, earning a raised eyebrow from Issei, a confused look from Asia, and a giggle from Katase.

'Poor girl. One day, she'll have the courage. One day.'

Katase then went to the scoreboard to find Issei's name and smiled when she found it.

"Man, I'm jealous of you, Issei-kun. You really are ranked #3."

"Let me see!"

Asia stepped in and read the list. Her face then lit up in happiness when she found his name.

"Wow! That's amazing Issei-san!"

Issei's cheeks turned pink as he scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks. It was a headache trying to memorize all of that stuff. Thankfully it all paid off. It's always good to have the proper education to get somewhere."

The three then jumped to see Motohama with a white headband with a red circle in the middle with the words "Nerd" on each side of the circle.

"Here! It's a special complimentary 'Nerd' headband! I made it just for y-"

SNIP!

"I have no need for that either," Issei said with an annoyed look.

"GYYYYYAAAAAAHHHH! MY FOREHEAD!"

Motohama sped his way towards the hospital in hopes that his bleeding forehead caused by a pair of scissors Issei pulled out from nowhere treated, earning a sigh from Issei and Katase.

"Well, Asia and I better head to the Occult Research Club. See you later, Katase-san."

"Alright! Catch you later, you two!"

After the three said their goodbyes, Issei and Asia walked their way to the ORC, while Katase made her way to the Kendo club.

Meanwhile, Sona was walking down the hallway with Tsubaki accompanying her. As they were walking, Tsubaki noticed a certain name out of the corner of her eye on the scoreboard. She stopped out of curiosity to take a look and widened her eyes in surprise to see Issei's name on the board, ranked at #3.

"Tsubaki, is something wrong?"

Sona noticed that her Queen was looking at the scores for quite a long time and went and check to see if she's okay. She then held the same surprised reaction as Tsubaki did when she discovered Issei's name in the board. She then held an impressed look on her face as she looked at his ranking.

"Come along, Tsubaki. We must head to the council room right away."

"Oh! Um… Yes ma'am."

Sona raised an eyebrow at her when she saw her jump and have a light blush on her cheeks. She didn't ask her about it because she knew why she was feeling this way.

As the two continued their walk to the council room, Sona held a hand to her cheek as she was thinking to herself.

 _ **~OVA Epilogue End.~**_

 **Authors Note: Hello again folks! The Arc where the Devils fight the Hollows has been completed! Now the story can get back to the canon! Kiba allowed Issei to keep the large sword, and everything's all good and dandy. Well… for now anyways.**

 **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: As of this post, I will be going on a brief hiatus from writing for about two weeks or so. Reason for hiatus? Some quizzes and upcoming mid-term exams for my school, and I want to do the best I can to do well. I'll be sure to update my bio to remind readers of said hiatus. You can tell I'm back from it when my bio no longer says "Currently on hiatus, blah blah blah". When I return from my hiatus, it's back to work on the story.**

 **Next chapter: "Getting familiar with our… Familiar"; Rias plans to bring Issei and Asia to the Familiar Forest to find them Familiars. What could possibly go wrong?**

 **Issei's current harem: Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Reya, Aika, Murayama.**

 **Until then, wish me luck on the exams, Folks! I'm really nervous about them coming up. ;~;**


	10. Chapter 9: familiar with our Familiars

_**Before we begin:**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

 **{Ddraig talking from the Boosted Gear or in Issei's Dream World.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei in his mind.}**_

 _ **Right, Moving on!**_

Chapter 9: Getting familiar with our… Familiars

* * *

Issei and Asia were packing their bags full of fliers. They were getting ready to go deliver some more to any potential clients they could score while Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba were doing their pacts.

"Okie dokie, I'm all set," Asia notified Issei as she finished packing her bag.

"Asia and I are gonna go hand out some fliers," Issei reminded Rias, who was sitting in her desk. He then turned to Asia and shot a smile at her.

"How 'bout it, you ready to go?"

"Hold on."

Issei and Asia turned their heads to Rias looking at the two.

"I think you'll be glad to know that your flier days are over."

She then turned her head to Issei and gave him a wink, causing his cheeks to turn light-red.

"Especially you, Ise."

"Huh?" Issei was confused on what she meant by that.

"Don't worry, it's not a punishment," Rias assured them as she stood up from her chair. "You've both done great work. Normally, the hassle of delivering fliers is the job of a Familiar's."

"A Familiar?" Issei asked with his confused expression still present. "I've heard of them being creatures who serve Witches or Magicians. Is that what they are?"

"Almost," Rias answered. "Familiars are creatures that we Devils use do small tasks and jobs for us, like giving out fliers for example. Having one is a key part in being a Devil, and I believe you two are ready to get one of your own."

"Oh, cool," Issei said smiling. "So, is this a promotion?"

Rias giggled at his question and looked at him.

"Well, I guess you can call it that. But first thing's first, we should wait for the others to come back so we can all show you two our Familiars."

"Oh, okay then."

With that said, Rias, Issei, and Asia waited for the rest of the Gremory Devils to return from their pact.

* * *

[Opening song: Bleach: Brave Souls intro]

* * *

As Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba returned from their pacts, the group began showing their Familiars to Issei and Asia.

Rias was the first to show them hers. She lifted her hand where the palm was facing the ceiling. Afterwards, a puff of white smoke appeared from it, revealing a bat with green eyes.

"This is my Familiar, Ise. I believe you two have met before."

"Eh?" Issei raised an eyebrow at her last sentence. "We have?"

After asking that question, the bat Familiar puffed into white smoke. Once it cleared, Issei widened his eyes to see a recognizable woman with brown hair, matching eyes, and a red dress waving at him.

"Wait," Issei said in surprise. "You're that woman who gave me a flier that other day!"

The bat girl only giggled at his surprise as she disappeared from his sight, leaving Issei to guess she went back to wherever she was. He then held a hand on his chin with a thoughtful expression.

'I wonder if all Familiars have a human form?'

"And I have one too, of course."

Issei and Asia then turned to Akeno to see her pointing her finger on the ground next to her. While she was doing so, a small green teleportation circle shined and revealed a little green creature with a horn on its head, smiling in Issei's direction.

"Um…" Issei had a raised eyebrow when he set his eyes on the creature. "What the Hell is that thing?"

Unfortunately for him, he didn't get his answer as the green creature disappeared back to where it came from.

"This is Shiro."

Issei and Asia then turned to see a white cat with hazel eyes and a bell on its collar in her hands.

"Aww, hey little guy."

Issei went over to pet Koneko's cat Familiar. Before he could, he widened his eyes a little to see that Shiro started nuzzling its face on his hand, making him smile and giggle at the adorable scene. Shiro then allowed Issei to gently scratch its belly. Everyone, including Koneko were surprised to see that Shiro started purring as he kept doing so.

"Aww, it likes you," commented Asia, earning a giggle from Issei as Shiro continued nuzzling its face onto his hand as he kept scratching its belly.

Issei noticed Koneko's surprised stare at him, making him stop petting the cat and back away a little.

"Sorry," he told her while scratching the back of his head with a light blush. "I really like cats."

Issei didn't notice since his eyes were closed, but Koneko's cheeks have turned light-pink after he told her this.

She then widened her eyes again when she saw Shiro get up on its legs while still in her hands and started leaning towards Issei's face. Issei widened his eyes when he started feeling its nose on his own. He then started giggling some more as it tickled when Shiro began nuzzling its face on his own face.

This caused Koneko to blush a light shade of red at how Issei was behaving when Shiro was nuzzling him and pulled her Familiar away from him.

Issei opened his eyes to see a flustered Koneko looking away from him with her blush continuing to turn darker. The cat then meowed at Issei while looking at him with such cute hazel eyes.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Koneko-chan," Issei apologized to her again. "I couldn't help but let your Familiar do that to my face."

"N-N-No, you're fine," Koneko assured him, trying to force her blush down.

Issei was surprised to see Koneko this flustered, and it was all over her Familiar liking him.

"Aww, what an adorable scene~."

Issei, Koneko, Kiba and Asia turned their heads to see Akeno blushing with her phone out.

"A-Akeno-senpai!" Issei exclaimed with a dark blush. "You recorded this?!"

Koneko shared the same shade of red as Issei was right now.

"Come now, Issei-kun, seeing a cat nuzzle your face was too cute to leave alone~. Ufufufu~."

"Ooh! Let me see!"

Asia came rushing to Akeno's side to see the video she recorded. She then started to have light red cheeks with stars in her eyes.

"Oh my gosh! It's so adorable!" Asia exclaimed.

"Asia!" Issei whined with a pout. "It's not that cute!"

He then widened his eyes as he saw Rias look at her Queen's phone with the same red cheeks as Akeno and Asia.

"I could watch this footage forever. It's so cute~."

"Oh come on! Not you too!"

The three girls didn't hear him. They were too busy watching Shiro nuzzle its face against Issei's in a loop while having stars twinkle in their eyes.

Seeing them like this caused Issei and Kiba to sweat drop. Issei then noticed out of the corner of his eye Koneko appearing to be embarrassed over what just happened. She also no longer had Shiro with her as it disappeared back to where it came from.

"*Sigh*. I'm really sorry about this," Issei apologized as he bowed his head down to her, surprising her. "I've let my affection towards these kinds of animals get the best of me and cause Akeno-senpai to do this."

Koneko shook her head at him, surprising the brown-haired boy. He honestly expected her to bonk him on the head or something like that and call him an idiot, but it didn't happen.

"It's not your fault, Issei-senpai."

She then looked away from him with her blush continuing to rise, surprising him even more.

"I kinda found it cute too."

"Eh?" Issei didn't hear the last sentence she said. Despite him being able to hear quiet things thanks to his Devil hearing, he surprisingly couldn't hear what Koneko just said.

"Did you say something?"

"No."

Issei widened his eyes a little at how fast she answered him. He decided not to question her further because he didn't want to piss her off.

Issei looked at where Rias, Akeno, and Asia were and sweat dropped again as he saw them still going "Aww~" at the video.

'Why do I have a feeling this is gonna haunt me somehow?'

"Here's my Familiar, Issei."

Issei turned to Kiba and saw that he had a small brown bird perched on his right shoulder.

"Oh, that looks cool," Issei complimented.

"Why thank you," Kiba said smiling as his familiar disappeared.

"So, a Familiar can be any kind of animal or creature, huh?"

"Indeed."

Issei turned his head to Rias as he heard her talk to him. He was surprised that she and Akeno actually stopped watching the video of him getting his face nuzzled by Koneko's Familiar.

"Like I said before, Familiars are a major part of being a Devil. When you're in need, they're always there to back you up."

"That's great," Asia said, surprising Issei even more that even _she_ was able to stop watching the video. "Only problem is we have no idea how we're going to get one."

"That's the next step."

Before Rias could say more, the group heard two knocks on the door, surprising them a little.

"Come in," Akeno said to whoever was at the door.

The two doors opened to Reveal Sona and her peerage entering inside, with Momo and Reya opening the doors for them. When everyone got into the room, the two Bishops closed the doors behind them and walked to their master's side.

"Sorry to interrupt," Sona said to Rias.

'It's the Student Council again.' Issei said in his thoughts. 'I wonder why they're here?'

Issei then noticed Tsubasa waving at him out of the corner of his eye. When he set his attention at her, she gave him a wink, making him blush a light shade of red. Wanting to be polite, he smiled and waved back at her. Since his eyes were closed while he was doing so, he failed to notice her beginning to blush and turn away from him.

"Hello Sona," Rias greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to check on you folks after the situation with the Menos Grande. I also want to take this time to congratulate you on increasing the number of your servants."

"Ooh, that's a pretty crystal you have, Hyoudou-kun."

Everyone turned to see that it was Reya who complimented Issei's necklace. The student council then turned their heads to Issei and saw that he was, in fact, wearing a black rope necklace with a sapphire crystal.

Issei chuckled a little while scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, thanks Kusaka-san. It's something I got as payment for my second pact."

"Oh." Reya's cheeks tinged red as his kind brown eyes were looking at her. "You've got two pacts?"

"Yup. I do."

"Aw man!"

Issei and the group now have their attention towards Saji, who had a look of jealousy aiming right at him.

"I still don't have one, and yet you were able to get _two_! That's so unfair!"

Unbeknownst to Issei, who was looking at him with an "Oh brother" expression, Tsubaki slightly glared at the blonde Pawn for being a jealous jackass.

"Look, don't worry man. I'm sure the next time you go to a client, you'll score a pact."

Issei tried the best he could to be polite to him. As a fellow Pawn, he wanted to get along with him and maybe become a good friend with him.

"Can it, D-bag!" Saji snapped, catching Issei off guard. "I don't want to hear such encouraging words from a punk like you!"

Issei's patience with him has now diminished. He was now glaring at him with dark scowl and tick mark on his head.

Tsubaki, Tsubasa, and Reya were also giving him scowls of their own. Issei was only trying to encourage him to keep trying, and instead of thanking him, he decides to treat him like his personal enemy.

"Heh! don't think you're the only badass around here pal," Saji continued while smirking. "I took up four Pawn pieces to becone Kaichou's servant, bro!"

"So?" Issei said with a deadpan. "I've consumed all eight pieces. I'm a friggin Pawn skeleton."

Saji's jaw dropped and his eyes turned blank white.

"Wh-Wh-What?!"

"It's true, Saji."

Saji turned his head left when he heard his master confirm what Issei said.

"Hyoudou-san has indeed taken all eight Pawn pieces to be reincarnated. It's always better to check your facts before making a complete fool out of yourself."

"No way! This has to be a joke!" Saji complained, pointing a finger at the brown-haired Pawn. "How did this lame-ass punk manage that."

Issei started to quietly growl at him. He was starting to get fed up with his arrogant behavior, and if he was able to, he'd shut him up right now.

Tsubaki couldn't blame him. She too was annoyed with how Saji was behaving just because Issei has more Pawn pieces than he does.

Same goes for Tsubasa. If she could, she would knock him out so they can carry on with the meeting between the two Kings.

"My apologies," Issei stopped growling when he heard Sona talk to him. "He's young and still new to this whole thing. I hope you'll forgive his youthful naivety. Newbies don't always appreciate the finer points of civility, do they?"

She turned her head towards Saji while asking that question expectantly.

Saji only sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Right."

Saji then approached Issei to shake his hand, with the ladder accepting it.

"My pleasure," Saji told him.

Issei only nodded at him with a stern expression after they finished their handshake.

Saji suddenly felt his left hand grabbed onto by someone.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Genshiro-san."

Saji turned to see Asia shaking his hand with both of her hands. Saji's mood was now happy as he grabbed her hands with both of his.

"Ah! It's good to see you again, Asia-chan! I still have yet to repay you for that time with the Hollows!"

"Oh! Um… Um…" Asia was looking around flustered as Saji started stroking her hands gently with his left hand.

Issei saw Asia being nervous with Saji's behavior towards her. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Issei saw Momo and Ruruko pouting at Saji and his actions.

He then decided to approach Saji and place a hand on his shoulder, causing the latter to send him a harsh glare.

"Let her go, please. Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?"

Saji lets go of Asia's hands and grabbed Issei by the shirt collar, angering the latter further.

"You think you got that shit on lock-down, playboy?! Well, You and Yuuto aren't the only bulls in this rodeo anymore, dick face!"

"What the Hell's that suppose to mean?" Issei asked with venom in his voice.

"Come on, Hyoudou!" Saji spat. "Don't even pretend to be dense. You should know full well you got chicks falling for ya left and right! Even the Fukukaichou has the hots for ya!"

"Eh?"

BONK!

Before Saji could say more, Issei jumped when Saji got pounded on the head by a blushing Tsubaki.

"Saji! If I were you, I'd stop antagonizing Hyoudou-kun and be on your best behavior, for Kaichou's sake!"

Saji didn't reply to her. He was too busy rubbing the knot on his head due to how hard Tsubaki hit him.

"Well, this must be embarrassing for you," Rias said to Sona.

"I know," Sona sighed out in agreement.

"You know, I could've taken care of this guy myself." Issei said to Tsubaki.

Maintaining her serious nature, Tsubaki looked back at him.

"I know, but since he's apart of our group, it would be easier if one of us would take care of him."

"How's flier duty treating ya, playboy?"

Issei and Tsubaki turned back towards Saji, who was looking at Issei with a smug look.

'Good Lord, he's still going?' Issei asked himself in his thoughts.

Tsubaki just stared at him with a full blown scowl.

"I'm not doing lame shit like that anymore, cuz I'm gettin' me a Familiar to take care of all that!"

"Oh really?" Issei asked Saji with a mocked surprise tone. "Asia and I are getting Familiars of our own too. Ain't we all lucky?"

"Oh? Is that your plan, Rias?"

Sona was surprised to find out her friend planned on taking her two new servants to get Familiars.

"Yes, it is," Rias confirmed with a smile. "I was thinking of going next week actually."

Sona puts a hand on her chin while Tsubasa and Reya drag Saji back to their group by the ears while having annoyed looks on their faces.

"Well, that's a bit of a problem for us since the Familiar master only takes people once a month."

"In that case, why don't we have a friendly little contest to sort this whole thing out?"

"A contest?" Sona raised an eyebrow at Rias' request.

Rias nodded before continuing.

"Whoever wins earns the right to make their request first."

Sona narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Surely, you're not talking about a Rating Game?"

Issei raised an eyebrow at what she said.

'What's a Rating Game?'

Issei then heard Rias giggle at her question.

"Oh no, we'd never get permission to do something like that."

"Yes, you're right," agreed Sona as a smirk formed on her lips. "Besides, this isn't the time to call attention to yourself, now is it?"

"Don't go there."

Issei was taken back at the tone Rias used as her expression darkened. He wondered why she suddenly got touchy because of how Sona used her wording. He also looked to see that Akeno was also worried about her.

"I know!" Rias' mood has suddenly changed back as she smiled. "We should settle this the good old fashion high school way, with sports!"

'Oh boy...' Issei thought. 'I have a bad feeling about this. Them being Devils and all.'

* * *

Every student of Kuoh academy was at the tennis courts once they heard about a tennis match that's going on between Rias and Akeno, and Sona and Tsubaki. Some students were cheering on for the girls of the ORC, while some were cheering for the Student Council.

"Come on, Kaichou! Stick it to those jack wagons!"

"What the?..." Issei, standing in his own spot outside of the fence, looked up as he heard Saji's voice from above. Once he looked up there, his face made a "wtf" expression as he saw him on top of the fence holding a flag that says: "Student Council".

'He better hope he doesn't lose his balance and fall. Crazy bastard.'

Inside the Tennis court were Rias, Akeno, Sona, and Tsubaki wearing their tennis clothes with their rackets in their hands. Rias and Akeno were on one side of the court, while Sona and Tsubaki were on the other. Reya was in charge of being the referee for the game as she wore a red jacket and pants with white stripes.

Reya noticed Issei to her right and decided to take this time to wave hello to him. Issei noticed her wave and waved back at her with a smile, wanting to be nice. This caused Reya to blush and quickly turn her head back towards the match.

'He looked at me again...'

"Akeno," Rias called out. "Remember, we're in it to win it."

"Got it! No mercy!"

Rias got into a stance with the ball in her hand, ready to serve.

"Alright, let's do this, Sona."

"Heh. May the best Devil win, Rias."

Rias threw the tennis ball in the air and struck it with her racket. Sona saw the ball flying towards her and hit it before Rias could score a point. Seeing the ball veer right, Akeno ran towards it and hit the ball with a sideways strike. Tsubaki hit it next as soon as she saw the ball fly towards her. And it was rinse and repeat in the match. But, fortunately for some of the male students, they got a special treat with every strike of the rattle the girls made.

Issei was watching the match with content and surprise.

"Wow, it's amazing what Buchou's willing to do in order to get me and Asia a Familiar."

Issei then turned his head left to see Asia having a conversation with Katase, Murayama, Aika, and a few more the girls. His smile grew wider when he saw her laughing joyfully with them. He was happy that she's continuing to make more friends during her time at school.

"Excuse me?"

Issei heard a voice from behind him and turned to see who it was. Who he saw was a busty girl with long brown hair that had multiple drill-like curls. She had her hands held together in front of her and wore a gentle smile.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?"

The girl giggled at his kind and polite voice.

"My name is Kiyome Abe, and I'm the captain of the Tennis Club."

Issei held a slightly surprised reaction at her introduction.

'Oh yeah, Buchou did mention that they got her permission to use the Tennis Courts.'

Issei then placed a hand on his chest to introduce himself next.

"My name's Issei Hyoudou, and I'm a member of the Occult Research Club."

"Not to sound weird, Hyoudou-kun, but I know who you are."

Issei widened his eyes at her sudden sentence.

"In fact," Kiyome continued as her expression turned a little sultry. "Everyone in school knows who you are."

Issei sighed with a sweat drop.

"Which nickname are you familiar with? I've got plenty of 'em from the guys and the girls here. Prince of Justice, the Punk Bishonen, etc."

Issei's expression then turned to annoyance as he looked away from her.

"And don't even get me started on what those two perverts started calling me!"

Kiyome giggled at his anger towards the Perverted Duo, but stopped when she saw his expression turn more grim towards where he was facing.

"Speak of the Devil," he uttered as he started walking towards that direction.

Kiyome kept her eye on him to see where he was going, and she shared the same feelings Issei had at what they discovered.

"Oh how I'd love to have one of them to smack _my_ Tennis balls~."

"Oooooh man! You can almost see their camel toes!"

The girls and even some of the guys looked at the Perverted Duo with disgusted looks.

"Oi!"

The two perverts jumped when they heard Issei's voice boom out towards them.

The girls look relieved when they saw Issei show up to confront the two, while some of the boys had no opinion.

"What the Hell do you two think you're doing with those binoculars?!"

"What does it look like, Nerdy Punk?" Issei's eyebrow twitches when Matsuda called him that. "We're enjoying the view given to us by those hotties! Thanks to them, I'll be whackin' it for weeks!"

"I wish I brought a camera with us to preserve those jiggly boobs forever~!"

Having enough of their shenanigans, Issei gave the Perverted Duo a hard kick, making them fly back six feet and crash into a wall, leaving them in an unconscious state.

"I don't even know why I bother asking," Issei growled out in annoyance as he smashed the perverts' binoculars with his foot.

He then turned to the audience who was watching him and bowed his head to them in apology.

"Sorry about those two. You may continue watching the Tennis match."

Issei lifted his head up from his bow and took his leave back to Kiyome, leaving the girls to talk about how manly he was for taking care of the Perverted Duo and some of the guys having mixed reactions. Some were jealous of the attention he was getting, and others were a little frightened of his strength.

"Pardon me on that, Abe-san," Issei said as he made it back to her. "I just had to take care of them."

Kiyome placed a hand on her mouth and let out a soft giggle.

"Oh no, I understand. And please, you may call me Kiyome-san. Or maybe Kiyome-chan?"

Issei's cheeks turned light-red at how she said that part.

"I'm going to stick with Kiyome-san. But as for me, you may call me Issei since I'm not into formalities."

Kiyome let out another giggle and nodded to him. The two then set their eyes back on the match between the ORC and the Student Council.

"So, Issei-kun, you rooting for anyone to win?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," replied Issei. "I'm just afraid of how the game will turn out."

Kiyome shared the same worried expression he started to develop during the match.

"I don't blame you. With them being Devils, I'm afraid they'll blow up the whole damn court."

Issei did a spit take at what he just heard.

"Wait! You know those four are Devils?!" Issei asked her in a whisper.

Kiyome nodded and winked at him.

"It's a long story."

Meanwhile, Kiba and Koneko were watching the game together while taking a look at their surroundings too.

"I don't think I've ever seen this many people at a Tennis match before," Kiba said to Koneko.

As they were watching the game, Sona hit the Tennis ball back at Rias and Akeno, earning some cheers and squeals from some of the girls.

"Give them Hell, Kaichou!"

Akeno was able to prevent her from scoring by hitting the ball back at them, with some of the boys cheering her on afterwards.

"Akeno-senpai/chan, you are the tits!"

Issei chuckled when he heard them cheer for her.

"What's so funny, Issei-kun?" Kiyome asked him in curiosity.

Issei turned his head to face her.

"Oh nothing. I just feel bad for those guys since they don't know her… Dare I say, true colors."

Kiyome understood what he meant, sharing a slight laugh with him.

"Is it just me or is this getting a little out of control?" Koneko asked, noticing the crowd getting too rowdy.

"Let's see how you like a magic attack!" Sona announced as she began to hit the ball back at Rias. "Sona Sitri style!"

After she said this and hit the ball, Issei noticed that it had a blue aura radiating from it.

"Did she just use magic?"

"Oh no..."

Issei turned to see Kiyome tapping her foot while having a nervous expression.

"Oh really?" Rias said to her friend and rival. "Let's see how you handle the Gremory counter-strike!"

Before she could do her named counter-strike, she widened her eyes when she saw the ball land near her feet and fly under her, revealing her panties due to the wind of the ball's speed.

"Wh-What!"

"15-00!" Reya announced to the audience.

"Yup, she did…" Issei confirmed with a deadpanned expression.

"Ha Ha! Suck it, Gremorys!" Saji shouted as he started waving his flag like a nutjob.

"Grrr!" Kiyome started to get angry after hearing Issei's confirmation. "I made myself perfectly clear to them that they can't use magic in their match!"

Issei backed away a little after hearing the tone used in her voice.

"Hey, we did agree to no magic, right?" Kiba asked with a sweat drop.

"Yeah," replied Koneko. "But that doesn't seem to be stopping them."

"Did you see the curve on that swing?!"

"That was so badass!"

Issei and Kiyome face faulted at what the students were saying.

"That's what it was to them?!" Kiyome asked in disbelief.

"Good Lord," grumbled Issei.

Kiba pulled on the colar of his shirt with his index finger.

"Well, I guess they've pretty much kissed the rule book goodbye, huh?"

"It's cool," Koneko assured him. "Buchou's about to lay the smackdown."

"Look, Sona," Rias said with a stern look in her eyes. "You can cheat all you want to, but in the end, it's not going to make a difference in this game!"

Rias then pointed her racket at her.

"You want a magic show? Well I've got a few tricks up my sleeve!"

"Uh oh," Issei said with a sweat drop. "I knew something like this would happen."

"You can say that again," Kiyome said in agreement.

"Do your worst, Gremory," Sona said with a smirk. "You think I'm afraid of you? Bring it on!"

And just like that, the next serve and swings of their rackets were to be expected of the Devils. Fire started to surround the two with every swing they've delivered. A gust of wind was also breezing away from the courts. The wind was so strong, it caused Saji to lose balance and fall to the ground face first, rendering the blonde Devil unconscious.

* * *

"GOD DAMMIT!"

Kiyome stomped her foot on the ground with rage, surprising everyone minus Koneko. While Issei, Kiba, Kiyome, Koneko, and Asia were making their way back to the club room, Koneko told the group that it was a draw and Rias and Sona were negotiating on what team game both peerages can compete in.

"What the Hell is wrong with those two?! When I said no magic, I mean _NO MAGIC_!"

Issei and Kiba backed away from her with a sweat drop while Asia was looking at her with surprise.

"N-No worries, Abe-san," Kiba said to her. "Sona did say that she's have her servants to repair them in a few moments."

"I'm aware of that!" Kiyome snapped. "I'm just still pissed off that they've broken the rules of our agreement!"

"Can someone remind me why she's here?" Koneko asked with her usual deadpan expression.

Issei sighed and looked at her, getting her attention.

"Long story short, she told me she wanted to tag along so she can talk to Buchou about what the Hell just happened."

The group then heard the door open and saw Rias and Akeno walking in the room.

"Starting now," Issei finished with a mumble.

"Alright folks, we've chosen Dodge ball as the game to play. We meet the Sitris tomorrow night in the gym. Get a good night's rest so we can have the strength to win this."

"Right!" The Gremory team said in unison.

"Thanks for playing for us," Asia said to the group.

"Yeah, for real," agreed Issei.

Suddenly, Kiyome began walking towards Rias and Akeno with an unhappy expression. Rias sighed, knowing what she's mad about.

"Look, we've gotten out of control, and I strongly apologize for it."

"Saying sorry is not gonna cut it, Rias!" Kiyome said with a stern look, crossing her arms under her bust.

"Look, if you want something as payment for the damages, we'll give it to you," Rias told her, trying to keep her calm. "It can be anything you want, as long as it isn't too big."

This caused Kiyome to calm down and raise an eyebrow at her.

"Anything, huh?"

"Yes, of course," confirmed Rias.

Kiyome took some time to think about what she wants as payment for them messing up the Tennis court. It took her ten seconds to think about it. After that time has passed, a smirk has formed on her lips and set her eyes towards Issei. The latter noticed her stare and backed away while having a worried expression on his face.

'I don't like where this is going…'

"Alright, I've made my decision."

"Hmm?" Rias raised an eyebrow at how Kiyome said that, especially with how she was eyeing at her Pawn.

"I'll forgive you on what happened at the Tennis court," she began walking towards Issei who to two more steps back. "If you let me borrow Issei-kun the day after tomorrow, after school."

"What?!" Issei shouted in surprise.

"Not happening."

Issei's eyes turned blank white at her sudden response.

'So fast!'

"Keep in mind Kiyome that he is my Devil servant, and he still has his duties as one as well."

"Ara, you didn't even let me finish what I was going to say," Kiyome countered with a wider smile as she was now next to the blushing Issei.

Rias sighed at her while rubbing her forehead with two fingers.

"Alright, I'll bite. What is it you want from him?"

'Oh crap!' Issei said in his mind, noticing Kiyome take a quick sultry look at him before turning back to Rias.

"Why it's simple, my friend, I simply want Issei-kun to be in a game with me as my partner. I'm aware that you've got a Dodge Ball game tomorrow, so I've scheduled it for the day after tomorrow."

"Th-Th-That's it, Kiyome-san?" Issei asked Kiyome with light-red cheeks. "You just want me as your partner for a Tennis game?"

"Yup," Kiyome confirmed. "That's it."

Rias put a hand on her chin while thinking about the deal. It took her about thirty seconds to make up her mind.

"Well, as long as it's just a game of Tennis, then I'll allow it."

Kiyome smiled at Rias' reply. As for Issei…

'Those bad feelings I get when it comes to these kinds of situations never let up.'

"That's great to hear, Rias," Kiyome said. She then faced Issei as her smile grew wider.

"See you in the Tennis court in two days~."

Issei's cheeks turned a little red as he saw her give him a sexy wink before leaving the club room.

"Well, ain't you the player."

Issei's head quickly shifted over to Koneko who was sitting on one of the sofas looking at him with the same expressionless look he grew accustomed to.

"Wh-Wh-What exactly are you trying to imply?!" he asked her with a slightly agitated expression.

"Kiyome-senpai seemed to have taken a liking to you in a matter of seconds."

Issei's face turned as red as a tomato as pointed a finger at her.

"I didn't ask for her to like me, you know!"

"Never said you did," countered Koneko, earning a chuckle from Kiba, and a giggle from Akeno.

"Oh, brother," Rias said with a face palm. "Looks like we got ourselves a fangirl of his."

"Ara ara, it's perfectly natural for him to have some Rias. He did earn a reputation for taking care of naughty students in a violent and aggressive way~."

Issei shivered at how Akeno said that part when her cheeks turned dark-red and how she swayed her hips side by side.

'Of course that turns her on, because she's a fricka-fracking sadist!'

Rias sighed while looking at Issei, understanding why he was currently behaving as he is.

'I just hope Kiyome-san isn't one of _those_ kinds of fangirls.' She said in her thoughts. 'Knowing how he also has a shy side to him.'

* * *

Issei was having a hard time sleeping tonight. The dodge ball game where it decides which peerage will go and get Familiars was making him worried.

"We've got to win this dodge ball game. I have to make sure Asia has someone protecting her when she's unable to defend herself, and when we're unable to be there to protect her."

Sighing out a breath, Issei decided to get out of bed and ask Asia something, if she's awake of course. Once he made it to the door that leads to her room, he knocked on it twice.

"Hey Asia, you still awake?"

Issei then heard the doorknob turn as the door began to open, revealing Asia in teal pajamas.

"Oh, Issei-san. Come on in."

Issei shook his head.

"Oh, no, that's not what I'm here for."

He then looked at her eye to eye, making Asia's cheeks tinge pink at his brown eyes.

"Listen, do you have a needle and thread I can borrow?"

"Um… Yes, I do." Asia replied tilting her head the left, wondering what he wants to use them for.

* * *

It was the next day. Nighttime came around, giving the ORC group the cue to head to the gym and be ready for the Dodge ball game against the Sitri team.

"Full moon out tonight," Issei said to himself, taking a quick peak outside before walking towards his group.

'Kaichou and the others aren't here yet.'

"They outnumber us by two people," Rias said to the group, snapping Issei out of his thoughts and setting his attention towards her. "So we've asked for those extras to be referees."

"I see," Issei said to her. He then set his gaze towards the ground. "But I'm still not sure about this."

"Oh, you'll be fine," Rias assured him. "Just grab a ball, aim it at the Sitri team, and hit 'em right in the face!"

As she said that, Rias threw the ball at Kiba, who caught it.

"Oh no, I know how to play the game," Issei told her. "I'm just not sure about going up against one of them."

"Oh? How come, Issei?" Kiba asked with a tilted head.

Issei's cheeks turn light-red as he scratched the back of his head shyly.

"Well, one of them helped me find the office on my first day of school, and has told me about how long it took for me to get use to the sun. She was really helpful to me, and I don't want to fight her simply because we're on opposing teams."

"She?"

Rias took time to think about what this Sitri Devil did for him, and that Issei called her a she. She put two and two together and looked up at Issei.

"Are you by any chance talking about Tsubaki?"

The red in Issei's cheeks turned a little darker as he continued scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, that's her."

"I see," Rias replied. "Sona did tell me about her Queen's first two encounters with you." Rias then looked at Issei with a raised eyebrow. "Well, there are the others you can try to take down, like Saji, Reya, and Tsubasa. Still It's quite surprising to me that you don't want to defeat Tsubaki in the game."

Issei held his hands together and fidgeted his thumbs.

"It's just that… she helped me out with this whole sun thing and..."

"Ara ara, could it be that you have a crush on her?"

Issei jumped at Akeno's sudden question and looked at her with a darker blush.

"Wh-Wh-What led you to that conclusion?!"

"Just a guess," Akeno replied with a teasing smile. "I never said it was the truth though. Ufufu~."

Issei sighed at her teasing as Akeno began to help Asia be ready for the game.

'At least she's not being sadistic and not wanting to…' "*Shiver*." 'I don't even want to think about it!'

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked behind him to see Koneko.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"Help me get ready…" Koneko replied with a shy expression.

Before Issei could question it, she shot her head up at him and gave him a slight glare.

"But don't get any funny ideas, pal."

Issei sighed at her.

"Of course not. Don't compare me to those… things known as the Perverted Duo."

"I was just warning you."

Issei nodded as Koneko got into a sitting position. He then placed his hands on her back to help her stretch her arms toward her feet.

"Uuuuugh! My legs are on fire!"

Issei turned his head left to see Akeno helping Asia with the same stretching exercise Koneko was doing. And from the looks of it, he could tell that she was in pain.

"Come on, Asia-chan," Akeno encouraged with a sincere smile. "Stretch a little farther, you can do it."

"Ugh! I'll try!"

Asia continued to moan in pain with every attempt to stretch farther. This made Issei look on at the scene with a frown.

"Poor Asia…"

"Something on your mind, Issei-senpai?"

Issei turned back to see Koneko looking at her with the same expressionless stare.

"*Sigh*. Sorry, Koneko-chan. I just can't help but feel sorry for Asia."

"Why's that?" she asked with a cocked head.

Issei turned back to Asia before continuing to speak.

"You see, whenever I see her in pain, I kinda feel it too. That's why we need to win this dodge ball game so we can get Asia a Familiar; a strong Familiar that can protect her when we're not around to do so."

Koneko had to admit to herself, she was quite astonished with how willing Issei was to make sure Asia's safe. Just knowing this caused Koneko's eyes to soften at him.

"You understand, right, Koneko-chan?" Koneko was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Issei talk to her again. "I want to make sure that she's well protected from harm. In a way, she's like a sister to me."

Koneko widened her eyes for a second and then looked down towards the ground with a sorrow expression.

"A sister, huh?"

"Huh?" Issei barely heard what Koneko just said. He was then surprised to see Koneko's face having a sad look.

"Hey, you alright."

Koneko was snapped out of her daze and darted her head to Issei. She sighed out a breath before replying: "I'm fine."

Issei wasn't entirely sure if Koneko was really alright. But he decided not to pressure her on it and continued to get ready for the upcoming dodge ball game.

* * *

After the ORC gang wrapped up their excercises, they were now waiting for the Sitris to show up so they can start their game. Issei told the rest of the group that he wanted to give them something before they get ready. When he got back, the group was surprised to see what he handed out to them.

"Team headbands?" Rias asked as she observed the headband that was white and had "Occult Club" sewn in red.

"Nice," Kiba complimented.

"We're gonna look totally badass," Akeno added with a smile.

"Thanks for the compliments, folks," Issei said as he puts his own on. "I stayed up all night working on them."

"You didn't sleep?" Rias asked, surprised.

"Well," Issei began as he scratched the back of head. "I was having a hard time sleeping, so I decided to use that time to make something cool for you guys as a way of saying thank you for everything you've done for me and Asia."

Everyone smiled at Issei as they got their headbands on.

"These headbands are perfect, Ise," Rias told him. "It was nice of you to do this for us."

Issei scratched the back of his head while smiling.

"Come on, Buchou, it's nothing that special."

"It's special to us, Issei-senpai," Koneko assured with a smile and a nod.

Issei only smiled wider with closed eyes.

"Alright folks," Rias said to the group. "Let's get out there and kick some Sitri butt!"

"Yeah!"

"Ready to rock and roll?"

The ORC gang looked to see Sona and her servants in their gym gear, ready to compete with the Gremory team in a game of dodge ball.

* * *

[Eye catcher beginning: Kiba holding small swords in each hand surrounded by other different blades]

[Eye catcher ending: Issei on one knee with his chin and hands resting on the hilt of the large sword Kiba gave him with Boosted Gear embedded on his left arm and his Hollow mask perched on the top right side of his head.]

 **A.N.: This is probably the only time I'm doing this, unless you readers say otherwise, or if I decide to go for it again. If I do, can't promise every single one of them will be… Dare I say, naughty.**

* * *

The dodge ball game between the Gremorys and the Sitris has begun. Momo and Ruruko were chosen to be referees for the game since the Gremorys are outnumbered by two people.

Tsubasa was the first person to have the ball. Her target of choice was Koneko as she set her stare right at her. Tsubasa gripped the ball tightly in her right hand and threw it right at her.

Koneko bent herself backwards to dodge it, but it was too late. She got hit by the ball and its speed caused the left side of her shirt so be torn open, revealing the left side of her white bra with blue spots.

"That's an out!" Momo announced as she raised the red flag.

"You okay, Koneko-chan?" Issei asked her, worried that it might've hurt her due to Tsubasa's Rook strength.

"I needed a drink anyway."

Koneko brushed it off as if it was nothing and went to do just that.

Tsubaki was next to have the ball. She decided to aim it at Rias, focusing her magic on the ball while looking at the crimson-haired Devil. After she did that, She threw the ball at her and it was approaching her at rapid speed.

Luckily, Rias was able to catch the ball with both of her hands. As she did so, her gym jacket and pants have gotten some tears, leaving parts of her black bra exposed.

Sona smirked at her friend and rival's actions.

"Well, catching Tsubaki's spike head on is pretty impressive."

"Don't forget Sona," Rias reminded her. "I'm a Gremory. It's just how we roll!"

Rias threw the ball at Tomoe, who was prepared to catch it. But right after Rias threw it, her eyes turned crimson-red. Suddenly, a red magic circle appeared around the ball. The ball then had a black aura with red outlining surrounding it as it approached Tomoe.

Tomoe was surprised at what happened to the ball, but she stood her ground and got ready to catch the ball. Unfortunately, her attempt to catch the ball has failed as it hit her in the chest and made her fly backwards from the impact. She then started to cover herself up while blushing and screaming as her clothes were burned away by the aura.

"Oh good Lord!" Issei grumbled while face palming himself after witnessing what just happened.

Meanwhile, Reya picked up the ball and was currently choosing who to throw it at next.

"Come on, Kusaka-san!" Reya turned her head to see Saji shouting at her. "Take out the playboy!"

Issei shot a glare at the blonde Pawn for calling him something he wasn't.

Reya too shot a glare at him for calling Issei such a thing, but Saji didn't notice it. Reya actually didn't want to throw the ball at Issei because of how much of a sweet guy she found him to be. Not able to make up her mind, she threw the ball at a random direction just to be done with it.

Reya widened her eyes when she saw that the ball was heading towards Issei, who was still staring at Saji like a hawk.

"Behind you!"

Issei was snapped out of his anger fueled gaze when he heard Akeno call out to him. As he turned around, he saw Akeno catch the ball in midair before it could hit him. Issei then turned away from her with pink dusting his cheeks as his eyes took a split-second look at her black bra.

"You need to keep your head in the game, sweeite~.," Akeno said to him with a wink, making Issei's blush go from pink to red.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks."

As the game continued, it was madness in there. With each throw of the ball from each Devil, the ball was almost like a bullet in the eyes of a terrified Asia and Issei.

"Is dodge ball suppose to be _this_ terrifying?!" Asia asked with her hands on her cheeks.

"Of course not!" Issei answered with widened eyes. "This ain't dodge ball anymore, this is a friggin war zone!"

The Devils, minus Issei and Asia, kept throwing the ball at each other until Saji got it next. Issei had his sights on him, since he found it obvious who he was going to throw it at.

"Oi, playboy!" Issei's eyebrow twitched as his teeth were grinding at Saji for calling him that again. "Dodge this!"

Saji threw the ball at Issei with a smug look on his face.

"Watch out, Issei-san!" Asia warned.

The ball was approaching Issei at a fast pace and…

PFFF!

 _{Boost!}_

Issei caught the ball with his left hand, Boosted Gear activated.

Everyone in the gym widened their eyes at his direction. It wasn't because of how he was able to catch the ball with one hand with Boosted Gear, but rather his current mood as he caught it, and it made Saji regret throwing the ball at him.

 _{Boost!}_

The Devils could see it in Issei's face, even if his eyes were now hidden behind his bangs. The expression of anger. The grinding teeth of rage. And what surprise them the most, was that they saw a black aura with a white outlining radiating from him like a trail of cigarette smoke.

 _{Boost!}_

Saji was now scared as he saw Issei's hair-covered eyes glare right at him. He didn't need to see his eyes to know that he was out for blood; _his_ blood.

After Issei boosted himself one more time, he cocked his left hand back, hanging onto the ball with a tight grip. That was when they saw them.

Issei's eyes.

His eyes were fueled with so much rage, Saji almost pissed himself.

"STOP CALLING ME A PLAYBOY, ASSHOLE!"

 _{Transfer!}_

Issei threw the ball at Saji with all of his might after transferring his power to it with his Sacred Gear. Saji tried his best to fight his fear and raised his hands to catch the ball. But…

BAM!

The ball flew right past Saji's hands and hit him right in the stomach, knocking out all of his breath as he slowly fell to his knees and landed on his side, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Can't… breath… Medic!"

Saji had a hard time speaking, as his voice was barely heard by the others.

Issei was now breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down from his minor rage. He took one last deep breath until he finally calmed down and dismissed his Boosted Gear.

"Damn, that felt good," Issei said to himself as he watched Saji gasping for air after such a hard impact.

"Damn son," Koneko said in the background.

"Well, that was brutal," Akeno said while licking her lips with a dark blush on her cheeks. 'Especially what he said after he took him out. That was so hot~.'

"Oh, I hope he's going to be okay," Asia said with worry in her voice.

"Phew! I'm gonna be feeling that for a while," Kiba commented while holding onto his stomach with his left hand.

Rias only whistled at her Pawn's performance. She was impressed with how he used his Boosted Gear to enhance the ball, and the strength he had to make the ball travel at such a fast rate.

The Sitri Devils too were amazed with his attack. While the group, except for Sona were a little frightened at his rage, they couldn't deny that his throw was a strong one.

"At least we don't have to deal with his ramblings anymore," Tsubasa said in the background.

"Come on! Let's end this thing, Sitri!" Rias said to her. "Right here, right now!"

"Hmph!" Sona smirked as she held the ball in her hands. "I'm just getting warmed up Rias."

"Game Over!" Momo announced to the group, making Sona widen her eyes. "Time limit reached! Victory goes to Rias Gremory!"

"Yay! We won!" Asia said in glee as she grabbed Issei's hands and started jumping up and down. Issei smiled at her for her happiness.

Meanwhile, the Sitri Devils were making their way towards the exit of the gym with Tsubaki waiting for Sona as she was conversing with Rias. Tomoe was wearing a red gym jacket and pants with white stripes since her previous clothes were burnt away by Rias' attack, and Tsubasa was carrying the unconscious Saji on her back. She didn't want to carry him due to how much of a jerk he's been to Issei so far, but it was under Sona's orders, so she didn't have a choice.

"Well, a deal's a deal, Sona," Rias said to her. "Since we beat you, we get to get Ise and Asia a Familiar."

Sona chuckled as she pushed up her glasses.

"As much as I hate to lose, I have to admit, it was a whole lot of fun."

Sona turned to face Rias and let a smirk form on her lips.

"Although, if this was a Rating Game, and not just us fooling around, there's no way you could've beat me."

"You really think so?" Rias asked with a confident smile. "Well, I guess we won't know for sure until we actually play the game, won't we? But, it'll be awhile til we have to worry about that."

"Don't be so sure, Rias," Sona warned her. "You'll never know what's coming up."

Issei tilted his head at their conversation.

'There it is again: a Rating Game. I wonder what that is?'

Issei shook his head, brushing it off.

'Guess I'll have to find out when the time comes.'

Issei and the group, plus Sona, who was walking towards the gym's exit suddenly heard a quiet "Aww~" from somewhere. They turned their heads to see Akeno showing a blushing Tsubaki a video on her phone.

Issei face palmed himself with a dark blush, knowing _exactly_ what she was showing her.

'I knew it…'

* * *

"Victory!"

The ORC gang were celebrating with soda for their win in the dodge ball game.

After taking a sip of soda, Rias began her victory speech.

"I want you all to know I'm thankful to each and every one of you for going out there and doing what needed to be done to beat the Sitris. I hope you guys are very proud."

Issei let out a gentle laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"I only took down one guy, so I'm not sure about that."

"Well, I enjoyed how you defeated that Pawn of theirs," Akeno told him with a sultry smile, making him blush a light shade of red.

"And don't forget Issei," Kiba reminded him while showing him his headband. "You also made these headbands for us. They're pretty rad, dude."

"He's right, Issei-san," Asia assured him. "They really brought our team together."

Koneko smiled and nodded at him in agreement.

"Aww, you guys are too kind," Issei said smiling with closed eyes and a dark blush.

"I hate to break up the celebration," Rias interjected as she set her warm gaze on Issei and Asia. "But I think it's time we go get these two a Familiar.

Akeno then activated a transportation circle.

"Wait, you mean we're getting them right now?" Asia asked surprised.

"It's a full moon tonight," Rias replied. "This is our best shot to see him.

"See who?" Issei asked as he took his large sword in his scabbard and carried it on its back.

"The Familiar Master," Rias replied with a smile.

The group then noticed that Issei was carrying his sword on his back with him. Issei noticed the stares and scratched the back of his head.

"Just in case something dangerous tries to kill us."

"I see," Rias said with a nod.

The group then walked onto the magic circle to go to the place where they get their Familiars.

* * *

POOF!

As the group made it to their destination, Issei and Asia looked around with surprised expressions.

"What is this place?" Issei asked.

"It's a magical forest where all the Familiars live," Akeno answered.

"Don't be scared," Kiba said as he noticed Asia's nervousness. "This is where we came to get ours too."

Issei looked around the forest while having his hand hold onto the hilt of his sheathed sword.

"Okay. I just don't want to take any chances."

"Yeah," Asia agreed while hiding behind Issei. "This place is really scary."

"Alright! Who want's me?!"

"What the-"

The group looked up at the same direction Issei was facing to see a guy with red hair wearing a blue cap backwards. He was also wearing a white sleeveless shirt and black short pants with what appeared to be a blue jacket around his waist and was carrying a yellow backpack on his back.

"Who the Hell are you?" Issei asked with a raised eyebrow.

The man points his thumb at himself with a toothy grin.

"The master of the Familiars! A.k.a., Zatouji!"

"Wha?…" Issei sweat dropped with a "wtf" expression. "That's the Familiar Master?"

The Familiar Master, Zatouji, laughed out loud before continuing.

"If your goal is to find Familiars galore, You've come at the right time, that's for sure! The full moon is out to help you decide, and I'll be the one to act as your guide!"

Akeno tapped on the weirded out Issei's shoulder to get his attention.

"In case you can't tell, he's very enthusiastic when it comes to his job."

"Uh-huh?" Issei said as he looked back at Zatouji. "You know, he reminds me of a certain Pokemon character."

"Now then, how can I help you, tell me what kind of Familiar you desire!" Zatouji continued. "A strong one? A fast one? One that likes to set fires?"

keeping himself together because of how much this guy was weirding him out, Issei stuck out his index finger to make a reply.

"Look, I just want one that can do the usual stuff. Deliver fliers for me, and have the strength necessary to protect me and my friends."

Zatouji placed his arms behind his head and jumped down towards Issei, startling the latter at his speed.

"I see, I see. You just want one with the basics."

Issei's eye twitched at how Zatouji was observing him. But then, he gave him a toothy grin and patted him on the shoulder.

"Though I did catch you saying you want it to protect you and your pals! You, my friend, are a kind hearted man!"

Issei backed away a little with his weirded out expression still intact.

"Thanks… I guess…"

Zatouji then noticed Asia's hand in the air, getting his attention.

"Well mister, I'd like to have one that's really cute and fun to be around."

Zatouji gave her a warm smile at her request and gave her a thumbs up.

"You want one that's fun? Done and done!"

"Thank you so much, mister!"

Issei smiled at Asia's enthusiasm. But he was reminded of something and gave Zatouji a serious look, getting his attention.

"Is something wrong, boy?"

"No, there's nothing wrong, it's just another request is all."

"Oh?" Zatouji raised an eyebrow at this. "You want another Familiar? It is possible to have more than one."

Issei shook his head.

"It's about Asia's Familiar. While this one's cute, can you also make sure that particular Familiar can also protect her when she's in danger?"

Zatouji let out a laugh, but it wasn't one to make fun of him. The others simply sent Issei a smile because of his kindness.

"Of course, of course! You really are a protective son of a gun towards your friends, aren't ya! I like that about you, my friend!"

Issei sweat dropped again with beady brown eyes.

"I have no idea how to respond to that."

* * *

The group was now following Zatouji in search for the kind of Familiars Issei and Asia requested. While they were doing so, Issei took some time to look around the forest.

'Well, this place doesn't seem so bad. I think I might get use to it here.'

"Look high!"

Everyone looked where Zatouji was pointing to see a small blue dragon with a light-blue face and stomach and brown eyes perched on a tree branch looking around in curiosity.

"It's a small dragon," Issei said to himself.

"Aww~, it's really cute," Asia said with clasped hands and a smile.

"It may be cute, but it's dangerous too," Zatouji warned. "When they get angry, they have the power to shoot a lightning that's blue."

"Hey, that type of dragon's pretty rare, isn't it?" Kiba asked with an impressed look.

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen one," Rias said with a smile.

"Get it now, if you want this one claimed," Zatouji beckoned to Issei and Asia. "Once these dragons grow up, they can no longer be tamed."

"Issei-kun, since you possess the power of the Red Dragon Emperor, that sprite dragon might turn out to be a good fit for you."

Issei pondered at what Akeno said. While she did have a point, he thought it was best that Asia gets it since he wants her to be protected from harm when he and the others aren't there. Plus, in his opinion, he thought having a dragon as a familiar since his Sacred Gear is a dragon type was cliché.

Having made up his mind, he looked up at the group and gave them a serious expression.

"Actually, how about-"

"KYAAAAAHHHH!"

Issei was interrupted when he heard Asia scream in fear. He turned in her direction and widened his eyes to see some kind of green substance raining on her, making her blush at the feeling of it.

"What the Hell?" Issei was unsure what it was, but he widened his eyes further as he found out what it was and squinted them.

"Oh my."

"Ara ara~."

"It's sticky…"

Issei turned around and widened his eyes again to see that Rias, Akeno, and Koneko too were having the same substance raining on them.

"It's green slime!" Kiba shouted out as he unsheathed his sword. Before he could cut any of them down, a piece of said slime has landed on his face, blinding him.

"Ara ara, it's burning away my clothes. How naughty~! I'm now all slimy and wet!"

Issei's eyes almost popped out of his sockets when he heard Akeno say that. He then started blushing a dark shade of red when he saw the slime do just that to the girl's clothes, making them moan out of embarrassment.

Issei immediately looked away from the girls and unsheathed his large sword. He then saw some of the slime fall down and cut those pieces down.

"Come on man! Those substances those bastard perverts were talking about in their 'favorite Hentai games' are real?! Give me a fucking break!"

Issei's face was now turning the shade of a tomato with a shy expression as he heard Rias and Akeno moan some more.

"My hands are tied!" Rias exclaimed. "I won't be able to use my magic like this!"

"Me neither!" Akeno added. "How are we going to get out of this mess?!"

"I'll save you!" Issei shouted as he readied his sword to cut down the slime that's tied them up. However, his eyes have widened and turned around away from them with his blush returning as he saw their naked breasts exposed. "But how am I going to to that without looking at your private parts?!"

Meanwhile in the background, Kiba was swinging his sword around while a piece of the green slime was still covering his eyes.

"Eating off clothes is the power of this weird slime," Zatouji told Issei while he too was blinded by the slime with a nose bleed. "They're fun for a while, but in the end, they're a complete and utter waste of time."

"Well, don't just stand there!" Issei said with his dark blush intact. "We need to do something about this!"

"Ahh~!" Akeno was now moaning in pleasure as the slime started fondling her breasts. "The pain hurts so good, it feels even better when Issei-kun's watching~!"

"WHAT?!" Issei screamed when he heard Akeno say those perverted words. 'That. Was NOT! Sadism!'

Issei then shook his head rapidly as he continued staring at a tree with his sword clutched in his hands.

"Nope! Not happening! I refuse to look in the other direction!"

"Ise, it's okay!" Rias assured him, now having nothing put her panties on. "We'll understand you're not looking at us for your pleasure! We'll understand you only want to cut those things down!"

Before she could continue talking, one of the slime wrapped itself around her crotch area, making her gasp out in either embarrassment, or pleasure with a dark blush on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry!" Issei apologized with a face as dark as Rias' hair. "Even if it's for a good cause, it would be indecent for me to-"

PLOP!

Issei stopped his rambling when he felt something land on his crotch. When he looked down, he let out another scream (Josh Grelle style) when he saw a piece of green slime on it. And to make matters worse for him, it started melting his pants, exposing his phthalo blue boxer shorts to the girls.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OOOOOOOOFFFF!"

Issei tugged at the slime to remove it from his crotch so it wouldn't destroy anymore of his pants.

"Ara ara~," Akeno said to herself with a dark blush in the background.

The rest of the girls were staring with blushes at Issei's boxers as he continued to struggle with the slime. He successfully got the slime off of him, but…

TRIP!

"Huh?"

Issei found himself losing his balance on the edge of what appeared to be a cliff. He tried to balance himself so he can regroup with the others, but it was too late. Issei has fallen off the ledge, unknown if he'll survive the fall or not.

"Ise!"

The girls were now struggling harder to be free from the slime so they can get to Issei and see if he'll be okay.

"Ahh! How are we going to get out of this?!" Asia asked with worry in her voice. "We need to find Issei-san and pray that he'll be alive!"

"I don't know!" Rias answered as she kept squirming around, trying to set herself free. "With how tight this stuff is holding us, I don't think we'll-"

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

Before Rias could finish her sentence, she noticed out of the corner of her eye a blue lightning zapping somewhere.

* * *

"OOF! ACK! OW! DOH!"

Issei was currently tumbling down a steep hill from the ledge he fell off of. His tumbling continued for twenty seconds until he landed face first on the ground, with the sword impaling it next to him.

"Uuuuuuuuuugggggghhhh!"

As Issei was struggling to get up, he clutched his left hand on his head from the pain he received. He then got up in a sitting position and grabbed his sword with his other hand. After letting out a few breaths, Issei looked down at his crotch and blushed in embarrassment to see that the front of his boxers were now exposed thanks to that green slime.

"Well, at least the rest of my pants are still intact."

As Issei looked up, he widened his eyes when he saw where he fell from. He then sweat dropped with a deadpan when he saw what the previous area he was at looked like while looking at the hill he tumbled from,

"Excuse me, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

Snapping out of his confusion, Issei got up from the ground and held his sword in front of him with plans to regroup with his friends and man up about the girls nudity.

"!"

Before he could do so, he started sensing something coming from behind him.

"That Reiatsu… It feels… odd…"

Issei turned around to find the source of the Reiatsu and saw that it was coming from a rather large cave.

With curiosity winning him over, he sheathed his sword and began walking towards the entrance of the cave, in hopes to know who or what was radiating such odd Reiatsu.

As he entered the cave, he was surprised to see a fair amount of torches surrounding the interior, allowing Issei to see better in there, despite having a Devil's sight.

 _ **{I'd be careful if I were you, partner.}**_

Issei heard Ddraig's voice talking to him in his head as he started walking around the cave.

'I know, Ddraig, I know. It's just… This Reiatsu's so odd… I couldn't help but find the source. It'll sound weird when I say it, but it feels… familiar to me.

 _ **{Familiar?}**_

'I don't know, Ddraig,' Issei told him with a sigh. 'It's just… Damn, it's hard to explain.'

 _ **{Just make sure you regroup with your friends when you find the source. You don't want them to think you've gone stray.}**_

Issei nodded at Ddraig's advice and continued onward to find the source of this strange Reiatsu.

As he continued walking around, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed an object in front of him sitting on the ground. Upon further inspection, he widened his eyes when he discovered what that object really was.

"A katana sword?"

The object he was currently looking at was indeed a katana. But, this one was different from the other ones. This katana sword's hilt was gray and scaly, and its scabbard was a darker gray, almost looking black when looked at from a long distance. What surprised Issei the most was its guard. The guard was a metallic structure that looked like dragon scales that were making the shape of a circle.

 _ **{Hmm…}**_

Issei noticed the sound Ddraig made in his head and decided to ask him about it.

'What is it, Ddraig?'

 _ **{I could've sworn I've seen a sword like this before.}**_

Issei raised an eyebrow at his words.

 _ **{But, since I've seen other swords with these kinds of scabbards, hilts, and guards, I can't be too sure about it.}**_

'Huh?'

Issei didn't know if this was out of his won will, but his legs started carrying him towards the sheathed sword. As he got close enough to it, he slowly extended his right hand towards it to pick it up. Before his hand could reach it…

PFF!

"!"

Issei saw out of the corner of his eye that a hand of a shadowy figure grabbed his arm and pulled it away from the sword.

"Some treasures are best left well alone."

The voice Issei heard was one of an elderly man. This man let go of his arm roughly, allowing Issei to jump away from him. As the man walked forward towards the sword, picking it up, his face and features were revealed.

This man was at least in his 40s or 50s. He had black hair that reached down his forehead and down neck. He also had a black beard for facial hair. His eyes were gray, and he was wearing a black cloak with a hood.

"I've known many fiends that have tried to take the sword you see in my hands, and try to use it for their own evil deeds. There are also some who wish to reveal the sword's existence to others, not knowing the consequences of spreading the word."

Issei was confused at the man's sudden choice of words. But before he could say anything to him, the man continued to speak.

"Only a swift death can assure the blade's safety."

Issei widened his eyes when he saw the man place his hand on the sword's scabbard.

SHING!

"I shall liberate you from your wild curiosity."

Issei stared at the blade of the sword with an amazed expression. From the looks of it, the blade looked like it was formed from the scales of a dragon. The miniature blades that form the katana blade itself have spread and reformed repeatedly, making Issei even more surprised.

 _ **{Ah, Now I remember this particular blade.}**_

'You do?!' Issei asked him in his mind while paying attention to the man who was walking towards him slowly. 'What is it, Ddraig?! Please, tell me so I can survive!'

 _ **{It's a very special blade that was used by a handful of warriors. Some good, some bad. How long ago? I'm not sure. My memory is blurred at that part. But, what I do remember, is that it's a sword formed by many sharp blades in the size of a dragon's scale. And with advanced tech the warriors used on it, this sword was able to take on its shape, and earn it's name because of what it looks like to those who give it a first glance.}**_

'Well, what's the weapon's name?' Issei asked him as he placed his right hand on the hilt of his own sword.

Ddraig was silent for a moment before giving Issei an answer.

 _ **{That Sword… is called the Scale Blade.}**_

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's note: Hello folks! I'm back from my hiatus! Or, if you wanna be specific, back from the exams. Even though it was about a week ago, I'm happy to be back to work. However, I do work at my own pace since there are other things I like to do.**

 **Now then, how the chapter ended: No, the man Issei will be fighting next chapter is NOT Yhwach, it's just a character I came up with for this chapter and the next one. As for the sword, it's kinda like Kisame's Samehada, except it's a katana sword, and it does not do what the Samehada does. I'll reveal how the blade works next chapter during the fight.**

 **Also, thank you guys for 308 follows and 263 favorites. Words can't describe how happy it makes me to know you enjoy my story. :)**

 **Next chapter: "The Scale Blade"; During his fight against the elderly man, Issei will learn the true abilities of the blade the man uses in hopes to find a way to defeat him and regroup with his friends.**

 **Issei's current Harem: Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Reya, Aika, Murayama.**

 **Until next time folks!**


	11. Chapter 10: The Scale Blade

_**Before we begin…**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

 **{Ddraig talking from the Boosted Gear and in Issei's Dream world.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement.}_

 _ **Right, moving on!**_

Chapter 10: The Scale Blade

* * *

Issei is currently in a situation where he has no choice but to fight. His opponent is a middle-aged man who wields, and according to the man, guards a strange looking katana sword Ddraig calls: the Scale Blade.

Issei grabbed onto the hilt of his large sword with his right hand and unsheathed it. He knew that this guy meant business in taking him out.

"Hmm, such a large blade," the man commented. "Are you sure you can handle yourself with such a weapon?"

Issei maintained his serious expression as he kept his stare on him and got himself into a fighting position with his sword.

"For me, it depends on how you use it."

"I see…"

The man gripped the hilt of the Scale Blade in his right hand and got ready to attack.

"Prepare yourself, boy!"

The man charged at Issei with his sword held above his head. Seeing this, Issei shifted his own blade in a sideways position to block the attack.

CLASH!

* * *

[Opening song: Bleach: Brave Souls intro]

* * *

Issei and the man were now clashing swords with one another. Issei had to be on defense due to the speed of the man's attacks with the sword that Ddraig said was called the Scale Blade. Sparks were flying out of the blades with every clash they've made.

'Damn! This guy's pretty fast! Almost as fast as Kiba, and I've never sparred with him yet!'

Issei looked on to see the man position the Scale Blade for an uppercut strike. With a battle roar, the man began to perform said attack. Issei dodged his attack in time with the help of his Shunpo, surprising the latter as his sword impaled the wall of the cave in front of him.

Seeing the man trying to pull the sword out gave Issei the opportunity to strike him, but he was aiming for a non-vital spot since he doesn't want to kill him.

Before he could get a chance to cut him, he widened his eyes in shock to see that the man has gotten his sword free and was beginning to swing it at him.

But that wasn't what surprised Issei. What surprised him was that a large piece of rock that once was a part of that wall was attached to the blade.

Issei tried to use Shunpo again, but due to the surprise he was still in with what has happened, the man struck him with the rock attached to the Scale Blade and made Issei tumble away from him by four feet.

Issei's forehead now has a trickle of blood flowing downwards and stopped at the bridge of his nose. He set his eyes on the man who tore the ruble off of his sword as he struggled to get up from his surprise attack.

"Impressive, isn't it?" the man asked him as Issei managed to get up on one knee with the help of his large sword.

"The multiple small blades in the size of a dragon's scales that form a blade of a katana aren't for show. The blades are so sharp, they're even able to destroy and hold onto certain strong structure such as the one you've just witnessed."

As Issei fully got up on his feet, he spat some blood to his left and set his stare back at the man. The latter then pointed his sword at him.

"Now tell me, boy, how were you able to move so fast to dodge my uppercut strike?"

Issei's eyes were widened in surprise at his sudden questioning. He then furrowed his eyebrows as he began to give him an answer.

"Simple. I use what I like to call Shunpo to be able to dodge enemy attacks at unpredictable speed."

The man widened his eyes a little in slight surprise at his explanation. He then began mumbling something to himself that Issei couldn't understand. Not even his Devil hearing could help him find out what he was saying.

The man then pointed his sword at Issei again.

"Now then, shall we continue our fight?"

Issei strongly shook his head at him, surprising him again.

"I don't want to fight you, sir. It's all a misunderstanding. I didn't come here to take that sword and run. I just-"

"Hmph! Why should I believe the words of a Devil?"

Issei widened his eyes further at the man's interruption.

'He knows that I'm a Devil?!'

Issei began to stutter at him, trying to ask the man how he knew that he was what he was. Before he could, the man continued to speak.

"While I'm aware of modern Devil logic, how do I know you're not a stray?"

"I-I'm not a stray!" Issei shouted. "I just felt an odd Reiatsu signature and got curious! And when I searched for the source it led me here!"

The man widened his eyes at Issei's explanation. He then looked downwards towards the ground at his Scale Blade, mumbling to himself again.

"Hey, what are you..?"

Before Issei could ask, the man shot his head back at Issei and pointed his sword at him.

"Enough talk! Let's continue our fight!"

Issei looked at him with a baffled expression and annoyed eyes.

"I… I told you that-"

"If you really have no evil intentions," the man interrupted as he took two steps forward, prompting Issei to raise his sword up for combat. "Then wound me and leave this cave. That is, if you can."

"Wh-What?!" Issei's baffled look remained on his face. "You must be crazy if you think I'm gonna hurt you! How are you gonna be able to recover from the wound?! Also, how do you know that I'm a Devil?!"

"I have my ways," the man replied. "Now, prepare yourself."

"Tch!"

Issei removed his left hand from the hilt of his sword and balled it up into a fist.

"Boosted Gear!"

 _{Boost!}_

The man widened his eyes once more when he saw that a crimson gauntlet with two gold spikes and a green gem appeared, embodying Issei's left arm.

"I see," the man said after he calmed down from his shock. "You have the Sacred Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor."

"Hmph! So you know of Sacred Gears as well?"

 _{Boost!}_

The man nodded his head, answering Issei's question.

"This fight will be more interesting then."

The man then charged at Issei with his Scale Blade ready for a sideways strike. Issei widened his eyes to see that the man approached him with such speed. Before Issei could do anything, the man slashed at Issei with his strike. While Issei didn't get wounded severely, he did get cut, many times actually. Before the man could strike him again, Issei used Shunpo to escape and got as far away from him as possible to give himself some space from the man.

Issei took this time to look at his injuries. The left side of his blazer and white shirt were torn off by the Scale Blade. He kept looking at his naked chest to see that he now has five of what appeared to be claw marks on the left side of his abs, with blood leaking a little from the wounds.

Issei then shot his head at the man with an amazed expression on his face.

'That speed! It was a little more faster than Kiba's speed! How the Hell is he able to do that?!'

"You're lucky to have survived that, boy."

Issei has now focused his attention on the Scale Blade wielding man before he could ask more questions.

"If I'd had aimed the actual katana blade part of the Scale Blade at you, you would've been sliced in two."

Issei planted his feet firmly on the ground and readied his sword for combat.

 _{Boost!}_

This time, he decided to go on offense and charged at the man with a battle cry. While he was charging at him, he positioned his sword to unleash an upward strike at the man.

Unfortunately for Issei, the man lifted his sword and blocked his attack by positioning it sideways.

"Hmph. I must say, boy, you're pretty strong," the man complimented as their swords were held against each other. "The strength you've put into that swing almost knocked me off my balance."

Issei didn't respond to him. He was busy making sure that he _does_ make him lose balance. However, Issei widened his eyes a little when he noticed the blades of the Scale Blade twitch while some of them were clutching onto Issei's sword.

"However, that, along with boosting yourself up with your Boosted Gear, will not be enough for you in this fight."

The man swung his sword to the side. As he did so, it caused something that was unexpected for Issei to happen.

As the man swung his sword, one of the seven small blades has torn off a piece of Issei's own sword, causing more than half of the blade to shatter in pieces.

Issei widened his eyes in shock at how easy the top half of his sword shattered. When the man first made that swing, it only took out a chunk of the blade, but a few seconds later, the rest of the top half shattered in pieces.

The man then attacked Issei with a vertical attack downwards. This time, there was one large cut that went down from his right ab to his stomach. Luckily for Issei, the cut wasn't too deep, but it was deeper than the claw marks he received from the miniature blades of in his left ab. The rest of his blazer and shirt were also torn off by the blades as well, leaving Issei's upper body exposed.

Issei flew backwards from the impact of the Scale Blade and tumbled backwards away from the man five feet, landing on the ground face front.

Issei was now panting as his struggle to get up from the attack was a tough one. While he was trying to get up, he looked at his sword and held a frustrated expression when he saw that only the half of the blade where six of the small triangle blades reside on the top was left.

'Dammit! He broke my sword!'

Issei managed to get up on one knee again as he used his left hand to balance himself. He used his right hand to pick up his broken sword and wipe the blood from his forehead with the top of his hand. As Issei was trying to get on his feet, he set his stare on the man and allowed a smirk to form on his lips.

'That old man still has it in him.'

 _ **{Partner! Pay attention!}**_

Issei widened his eyes as he saw the man charge at him with the same speed he witnessed before. But this time, he was ready, and he decided to use what's left of his sword in hopes to block the man's attack.

KA-CHINK!

Issei widened his eyes further when he saw that he successfully blocked the man's attack.

The man was surprised at this as well, but he wasn't going to let that distract him. He tried again with a sideways slash going left, but once again, Issei blocked it.

Issei tried to go offense again and aimed a slash at the man's stomach, but the latter blocked the attack. Issei tried again, this time aiming for his left leg. Before the blade could cut him, he blocked that attack too.

This pattern of the man going from offense to defense, and Issei doing the same kept going for twelve seconds; sparks flying out of the blades with every clash.

This time, Issei decided to circle around him with the speed of his Shunpo in hopes to catch him off guard. Unfortunately for him, the man decided to maneuver in high speed as well.

The two clashed swords with each other with every moment they were close to one another as they kept maneuvering around the cave.

At the next clash, the two had their swords pressed against each other, stopping their maneuvering.

"Well, well," said the man with a smirk. "You sure do know how to keep up the pace with those wounds. As well as with only a small fraction of your sword."

Issei gritted his teeth while glaring daggers at the man.

Before he cound respond to him, the man delivered a swift punch to Issei's face with his left hand, causing the former to have a few drops of blood spurt from his face and have his back facing him due to being turned around from the impact of the man's fist.

Taking the opportunity, the man raised his Scale Blade above his head and unleashed a slash downwards at Issei's back.

SLICE!

"GAAAAAHHHHH!"

 _ **{Issei!}**_

After getting cut in his back, blood spurted from the diagonal slash wound and the eight claw marks from the sword. Issei then fell down to the ground face down with a loud thud, dropping his broken sword in the process.

"But to be fair, you were wielding it like a dagger or a cleaver," the man continued. "So I have to give you credit there."

Issei is now lying on the ground in pain. He's bleeding from the wounds on his back, and the wounds on his chest, giving him a hard time to get up and keep fighting. All he could do was stare at the man who was walking around him to get in front of his head.

"You fought well boy, but this is the end for you."

The man held his Scale blade in one hand and pointed the blade at Issei.

Seeing this, Issei mustered up as much strength as he possibly could to get up. But due to how much blood he's lost, he was unable to do so.

"Don't try to get up, boy," the man said to him. "It'll only make it worse for you."

Issei looked up at the man with his head and glared at him.

"Unless you have some kind of resolve, you will never be able to lay a scratch on me. Not in the current condition your in."

Issei continued to glare at him as he continued to speak.

"I've seen how you've fight. And while I am impressed with you making it this far, I've noticed some flaws during our fight."

Issei gritted his teeth.

"Flaws?"

The man nodded before continuing.

"During the fight, I've noticed that you go on defense throughout most of the fight."

"Yeah? So what?"

"That leads me to my next point."

The man put the tip of the blade away from Issei and looked at him with stern eyes

"Your weakness is _fear_."

Issei widened his eyes while his brows were narrowed.

"Whenever you go for the attack, you hesitate before doing so," the man continued. "Because you fear of the outcome. When you try to attack me, You fear that you have some kind of opening left for your opponent. When you try taking me out with the help of your speed, you fear that the opponent will be faster. And when you try to defeat me with a broken sword, due to how small what's left of the blade is, you fear that I'll simply cut you down instead of blocking the attack.

Issei and the man kept their stares at each other for five seconds before the latter broke the silence.

"Your fear is nothing more than a distraction! How do you expect to take your opponent down if you keep worrying about what will happen next?! If you keep giving in to your fears, then they _will_ come true!"

Issei's eyes have widened to the size of saucers. He then narrowed them at himself as he rested his head back on the ground. He then reflected at the times where he was fighting with the man, mostly with when he was fighting him with a broken sword. And he had to admit, he was mostly right.

He has remembered that right when he was going for the attack, he immediately switched to defense the second he saw his opponent move his sword.

Remembering it made Issei close his hands into fists tightly. He was so mad at himself with how scared he was in battle.

"Hmph! I think it's time that I put you out of your misery."

Issei didn't respond to him. His head was still facing the ground with his eyes hidden by the shadow of his hair and with tightened fists.

The man flipped the Scale Blade to where the tip of the blade was facing downwards. He hovered the sword towards Issei, ready to finish him off. He then lifted the weapon and began to strike at Issei's neck.

PFF!

 _{Boost!}_

"!"

The man was now widening his eyes in total shock at what he has just witnessed.

[Play music: Bleach OST: Battle Ignition]

Issei was now holding onto the Scale Blade with his Boosted Gear embodied hand and got a good grip on it. The man tried to get it out of his hand, but has failed to due so due to how tight his grip on the blade was.

The man then widened his eyes further when he saw a black aura with a thin white outlining radiate from Issei's back like a smoking chimney. What surprised him the most was that his wounds were closing at a rapid pace. But, they only closed enough to where only a tiny bit of blood would still leak from them, but not too severe.

'Is that..?'

The man then stumbled backwards when Issei suddenly vanished from him. He then widened his eyes again to see that Issei was now standing in front of him with his broken sword clenched in his right hand and the black and white aura continuing to radiate from him.

'All of his wounds… They're 90% healed!'

"Sorry to disappoint you,"

The man was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Issei talk to him with a strong and determined expression.

"But I found my resolve."

 _{Explosion!}_

Issei was now surrounded by a red aura, the same shade of red as Issei's Boosted Gear. Both auras, the black one with white outlining, and the red one, intertwined together as Issei got into a fighting position.

The man got himself ready for whatever he was up to. He noticed the look in Issei's eyes, and he wasn't fooling around.

Issei held the broken sword in his right hand like he would a combat knife and charged at the man with Shunpo. The man saw him move at such speed, so he was able to block the attack with his Scale Blade, causing a large amount of sparks to fly from both swords.

As the weapons were pressed against each other, Issei looked at the man with stern eyes, making the latter widen his eyes in surprise at the former's expression.

"If I do have an opening, I'll just suck it up and defend it, and find an opening on you."

Issei delivered a hard kick on the man's right leg, causing the latter to scream in pain and lose his balance. Issei then shoulder charged him and knocked him backwards by five feet.

"If I'm worried about my opponent being faster than me, then I'll do my best to keep up with him or her."

The man regained his balance and got into a fighting position with his Scale Blade and charged at him. Issei just stood there with his stern expression still intact.

As he lowered his sword to cut Issei, he widened his eyes once again when Issei suddenly appeared in front of him, holding the Scale Blade in his left hand with a tight grip.

"And if my weapon is a broken sword, a small one, or a dagger, or even if I'm wielding a dull blade…"

Issei then lifted his broken sword above his head and looked at him with widened eyes and furrowed brows.

"Then I'll use that weapon, to the best of my ability!"

SLASH! PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Issei has successfully cut down the man. But, he only aimed at his left shoulder so he won't die, despite the blood flowing from the freshly made wound.

The man slowly fell to his knees while dropping his weapon and used that hand to hold onto his wound.

"By the way,"

The man turned around to see Issei looking at him with stern eyes as he continued to speak.

"You're half-right about my weakness being fear. Sure, if I worry about them too much, then I won't get anywhere in my battles. But, it's perfectly natural for one to develop a fear in battle. And when we face them more often, eventually, we all get over them."

[song end]

Issei then turned around from the man and sheathed his broken sword behind him in his scabbard.

"I'll be on my way now."

Issei began to walk his way towards the cave's exit. After he made six steps forward, he stopped in his tracks when he heard a loud burst of laughter. When he turned back around, he saw that it was the man who was laughing, to Issei's surprise, joyfully. There was absolutely no evil tone used in his laugh.

The man stood up after calming himself down and turned to Issei, prompting the latter to get ready for anything.

Issei then widened his eyes to see that the man was actually smiling at him.

"As to be expected of you, young one."

Issei stared at him with an expression that said "Whaaaaaaat?" as several question marks were popping all around him.

"Wait... What..?"

After the man dusted himself off, he picked up his Scale Blade and sheathed it in its scabbard. He then walked towards Issei, who was snapping out of his confusion as he noticed the former approaching.

"Don't worry, I don't want to keep fighting anymore," The man assured Issei, noticing him taking two steps backwards. "I'm just going to tell you how proud I am with your resolve."

Issei's eyes widened at the man's reasoning. His eyebrows then furrowed as he pointed a finger at him.

"Wait a minute! First you tried to kill me because of my 'curiosity' and discovering that funky sword in your hand, and _now_ you're congratulating me for making it this far?! Just what the Hell kind of warrior are you?!"

He then noticed out of the corner of his right eye that the man's shoulder has now healed slightly, prompting Issei to widen his eyes in shock.

"W-Wait! How the flying crap did your wound stop bleeding?!"

"Calm down, boy, and hear me out."

Sighing a breath of frustration, Issei complied and crossed his arms around his chest.

"You are right about one thing, I originally did intend to kill you because I thought you had evil intentions coming here. But now, after feeling your Spiritual Power further, I've realized I was wrong."

"Spiritual Power?"

Issei became intrigued when he heard him say those words.

"What do you mean by that?"

Before the man can answer him, he widened his eyes and turned left away from Issei. Narrowing his eyes, he turned back to him.

"Unfortunately, I cannot converse any longer. Something's come up, and I must leave this cave."

Issei looked on at him with a deadpan.

'Of friggin course.'

With a sigh of irritation, Issei turned back to the entrance of the cave and started to leave.

"Hold it!"

With another sigh, Issei turned his head to face him. He then widened his eyes a little when he saw that the man was holding out the sheathed Scale Blade in front of him.

"Sir… What are you…"

"Well, go on," the man said as he kept the weapon out in front of him.

Hearing this caused Issei to widen his eyes in shock as he realized what the man was trying to do.

"Y-… You're giving it to me?"

Issei's eyes widened further when the man nodded to him in reply.

"H-Hold on! Why would you put your trust in me to have such a sword?!"

"If you're worried about me not having anything to protect myself, then don't. I've got plenty more weapons in my next destination."

"Huh?"

Issei looked on at the man for a few more seconds; confusion still shown on his face.

"As for why, I believe that you are the only person I can trust to be its new keeper."

Issei widened his eyes once more. He snapped out of his shock and looked at the sheathed weapon. He slowly reached out for it with his right hand. He stopped it when his hand was a few centimeters from it.

"Are you sure I should have it?" Issei asked, still unsure about taking the sword.

"Yes. Now please, take it and regroup with your friends. I need to hurry on my way."

Gulping, Issei took the Scale Blade from the man's hands and wrapped the strapping around his waist so the weapon is on Issei's left side.

After that's been taken care of, he looked up from his waist to say something to the man. Upon doing so, he widened his eyes to see that he has disappeared. He tried detecting his Reiatsu signature to sniff him out, but he had no luck.

This prompted Issei to palm his face and sigh in frustration.

"That was the most confusing moment of my life so far."

Issei then looked down at his new weapon, the Scale Blade, and recalled what the man has told him as he was offered the weapon.

" _I believe you are the only person I can trust to be its new keeper."_

Issei grabbed the hilt of the Scale Blade with his left hand and slightly unsheathed it. He then observed the structure of the sword and was impressed with how multiple small blades can make the structure of a katana sword and do more than just hack and slash.

"But still, why me?" He asked himself out loud. "I'm sure that there are other good warriors stronger than me to use this weapon."

Sighing, he sheathed the sword back into its scabbard and made his way towards the exit of the cave.

"But I will say one thing, that guy is one Hell of a mystery."

* * *

[Eye catcher beginning: Rias in a fighting position with her demonic power in both of her hands, wearing her school uniform.]

[Eye catcher ending: Tsubaki in a crouching position holding her naginata in her right hand with the blade pointing upwards, wearing her school uniform with her blue panties showing due to her skirt being lifted presumably by the wind.]

* * *

"ISSEI-SAN!"

"Oof!"

As soon as Issei got out of the cave and made it outside, he was caught off guard when he was tackled into a tight hug by a sobbing Asia. When he looked down at her, he was surprised, and thankful that she somehow got all of her clothes back after her and the other girls were attacked by clothing devouring green slime.

Issei then looked back up to see the rest of the ORC gang here. And again, to Issei's surprise, the girls got their clothes back as well.

Kiba had his sword out in case any dangerous beasts were going to attack them, and he was thankful to see that Issei was still alive and breathing.

The girls were also glad to see Issei. Rias had softened eyes at him, as did Akeno, and Koneko looked at him with a simple smile.

Noticing their eyes on them, Issei slightly chuckled with closed eyes and raised his free hand to wave at them since he was still trapped in Asia's hug.

"Yo."

"Glad to see you're still in one piece," Kiba said with a smile, prompting Issei to chuckle.

"Ara ara, you look like you've had some fun~," Akeno said to him, giggling with a dark blush as she saw his injuries and the slightly exposed phthalo blue boxer shorts due to the slime he once had on him.

"Issei-san, what happened to you?!" Asia asked him as she started healing his injuries. "Were you attacked by a beast?! Is it still around?!"

Issei sighed and patted Asia's head while smiling at her, causing her to blush at his smile and gentle brown eyes.

"Don't worry Asia. It's taken care of."

ZIP!

Issei jumped when he saw a small blue dragon fly towards him with an angered expression.

"No, Rassei! He's a friend!"

The small dragon widened his eyes and turned his head to Asia. He then scanned Issei with his eyes for a couple of seconds and nodded at him, making Issei raise an eyebrow at this.

The dragon then flew to Asia and landed on her left shoulder as she began to heal the injuries on Issei's back. While she was doing so, Issei was reminded about what Asia said to the dragon and turned his head around to face her.

"Rassei?"

Asia looked up from his back and nodded at him with a smile.

"Yeah, that's his name. When I was thinking what to call him, it popped in my head."

The small dragon, Rassei, started to nuzzle his face on Asia's cheek, prompting her to pet him on the head, making the former smile in glee.

"I love him very much," Asia continued. "And every time I hold him, it reminds me of you."

Issei blushed a light shade of red at her kind words.

"I see, you named the little guy after me. That's really sweet of you."

Issei looked at Rassei and smiled.

"And I assume you made him your Familiar?"

Asia nodded, making Issei's smile grow.

"That's good to know. It's nice to meet you, Rassei. I hope we can get along."

After Asia finished taking care of Issei's back, he turned around and reached his hand to pet Rassei.

He smiled once more to see that Rassei started nuzzling his hand as he was petting him.

This made Asia smile and giggle at the scene.

"Aww, he's getting along with you already."

The two Devils then noticed the surprised looks coming from the other Devils, prompting Issei to raise an eyebrow at them.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing is wrong, Ise," Rias assured him with her hands up. "It's just when Asia made him her Familiar, the Familiar master told us that he hated other males."

"Really?"

Issei then placed a hand on his chin and scratched it with his index finger as he looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Maybe he was talking about other male Familiars?"

"Oh yeah, Issei?"

Issei turned his head to Kiba when he heard him call to him.

"Yeah?"

"I've been meaning to ask since I didn't notice until a few seconds ago, where did you get that sword?"

The rest of the Devils, except Issei, looked at where Kiba was pointing. While everyone was surprised with Issei's new weapon, Issei himself just chuckled.

"Oh. This?" Issei took his left hand and gripped the scabbard of his new katana sword that was strapped on his left hip. "I found it in the cave that you see behind me."

Issei then grabbed the hilt with his right hand and unsheathed the blade, with sparks flying out of the scabbard and the blade itself.

The group widened their eyes in astonishment when they saw the structure of the sword. The small blades, the size of a dragon's scales that formed the shape of a katana sword were stretching out as if they were claws thanks to its tech and mechanics.

"Ara ara! Is that the Scale Blade?!"

Issei widened his eyes in surprise at Akeno's question.

"You've heard of it?"

"Amazing!" Kiba said with amusement visible on his face. "So this is what the rumored sword looks like?"

Rias shared her surprise as well, whistling while looking at the Scale Blade at its glory.

"I must say, this is the first time I've ever seen such a uniquely crafted weapon. And to think that you would be the one to be its newest wielder. I am personally blessed."

Issei chuckled nervously as he sheathed the sword back into its scabbard.

"Yeah, it does look cool."

Issei then remembered something as he shifted his eyes towards Rias.

"That's right! I need to get a Familiar too!"

Issei then made a confused expression as he heard Rias sigh with her arms crossed under her bust, pushing her breasts up.

"Sorry, Ise, but while we were looking for you, we ran out of time and the Familiar Master is expecting us to leave when we found you."

Issei let out a sigh in disappointment as he stared at the ground.

"Shoot. And here I was hoping that-"

"Nyan."

Everyone turned their heads to see where the sound of a meowing cat came from. After six seconds of searching, they looked down in front of themselves and widened their eyes in surprise to see a black cat with hazel eyes walking towards them. The group widened their eyes further to see that the cat was making its way towards Issei.

The cat looked up at Issei and let out another meow at him.

"Oh, hey there."

Giving in to how cute it looked, Issei smiled and knelt down in front of the cat and started petting its head. The cat allowed him to do so as it lifted its head up towards his hand as he started scratching behind its left ear.

Making a face of realization, Issei turned to Rias with a serious and curious expression, making the latter raise a curious eyebrow.

"Buchou, is it possible for me to make this cat my Familiar?"

"Ise," Rias, as well as everyone else were surprised at his request.

"I don't care if there's a chance it won't do badass stuff," Issei continued. "All that matters is that it can do what most Familiars can do: deliver fliers, muster up the strength to protect me and my close ones, and other stuff."

Issei then looked down at the cat with a warm smile.

"Besides, like I said before, I really like cats."

The Devils had their surprised looks still intact at Issei's declaration. Before Rias could say anything to him in response, Issei looked towards the cat to ask it a question.

"How 'bout it? You wanna be my Familiar?"

Much to the Devils' surprise yet again, they saw the cat nod to Issei in response, earning a smile from the brown-haired Devil.

"Alright," Issei said as he stood up and faced Rias. "So, how do we do this?"

"Well," Rias began to explain. "Now that this cat has accepted your offer, you simply start a chant that binds him as your Familiar. While you're doing so, a green magic square appears, making it your Familiar."

"Here's a script of what you have to say in order for it to work."

Issei saw Akeno pull a piece of paper from her skirt pocket and reach it towards him. He accepted it from her and began reading it over with murmuring sounds.

After reading it over, Issei nodded and looked at his soon-to-be cat Familiar.

"Alright, let's do this."

Right after he said that, a green magic square started to surround the black cat.

'How the…'

Deciding to ignore how the magic square randomly appeared, Issei went on to do the chant while taking brief glances at the paper Akeno handed him.

"In the name of Issei Hyoudou, I command you to accept this pact and become my Familiar."

A few seconds after he completed the chant, the square vanished from the black cat.

"So… Did it work?" Issei wondered allowed.

"Yup, it did," Akeno replied with a wink towards him, prompting him to blush a light shade of red. After he recovered from the blush, he looked at his new Familiar and smiled at it.

"So, you ready to go?"

"Of course, Issei-sama. I'm ready when you are."

Everyone was taken back when they heard a male voice talking to Issei. The group looked down to find the source of it and widened their eyes further to see that it came from the black cat.

"What's wrong?" The cat asked, noticing their shocked faces. "Have you never seen a talking cat before?"

"Oh no," Rias replied with her hands up and a sweat drop. "We've seen stuff like that before."

Issei looked at his cat Familiar with a raised eyebrow.

"If you were able to talk, then why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Just wanted to have some quick fun," the cat replied with what appeared to be a smile. He then proceeded to bow his head down in front of Issei.

"My name is Yoruichi, and I look forward to working with you as your Familiar, Issei-sama."

Issei, as well as the other Devils was surprised when he heard his introduction.

"That's your name?"

"Yes, it is," Yoruichi replied casually. "Do you not like the name?"

"Oh, no!" Issei replied while scratching the back of his head with a nervous smile. "It's fine. The name's cool. I just didn't know that you already had a name for yourself, that's all."

"Alright, good to know that you like the name" Yoruichi said as he leapt onto Issei's shoulder, surprising the latter.

Issei let out a nervous chuckle as he nodded with a sweat drop.

After everything was taken care of, Akeno prepared a transportation circle for the group so they can head back to the club room. The Devils walked on there and were engulfed by the light, transporting them back to their destination.

After the Devils have disappeared, a familiar man in a black coat watching the area. He then walked away from the area and began to travel to wherever he was going to go with a confident smile.

"You will become a fine warrior, Issei Hyoudou."

* * *

The ORC group made it back to their club room via a transportation circle. Rias sat at her desk with her headband from the dodge ball game still on it, Akeno went to make tea, and Kiba and Koneko were playing another around of chess together.

On one of the sofas, Issei and Asia were sitting next to each other while having their Familiar's out with them. Asia's, a blue sprite dragon who was cuddling in her chest, and Issei's, a black cat who sat next to his right leg.

"They say that sprite dragons only give themselves to the most worthy and pure hearted of masters," Rias said to Asia. "And normally, they would never choose to serve a Devil."

"Asia use to be a Holy Sister," Akeno said to Rias as she came by with the tea prepared. "So who knows? Maybe that had some sway over the little guy."

Rassei continued to snuggle on Asia's chest as she patted on his head with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Rassei."

Rassei turned his head around with a curious expression to see Issei talking to him.

"I'm counting on you to protect Asia well. You think you can do that?"

Rassei blinked at Issei when he saw the latter gently place a fist in front of him. As if he knew what Issei was doing, Rassei smirked to him and lifted its right hand towards his fist and placed it on their, somewhat making a fist bump.

Issei smirked back at the small dragon while Yoruichi and Asia smiled at the sight of a friendship between the two.

SNAP!

The three, plus Yoruichi widened their eyes at the sound of a camera going off and turned their heads to find the source of it, and it resulted in mixed reactions.

Yoruichi and Rassei shared a puzzled expression while Asia was surprised at what she saw. As for Issei…

"Akeno-senpai!" he exclaimed. "Did you just take a picture of that?!"

"Ufufufufu~. I couldn't help it~, it's cute~," Akeno replied with a cute smile and closed eyes.

Issei sweat dropped at Akeno while Rassei looked on with a puzzled look.

"Is it always like this here, Issei-sama?" Yoruichi asked.

"*Sigh*. Sometimes it is, dude. And please, just Issei's fine. There's no need for formalities, even if I am your Familiar master."

Yoruichi blinked two times at his master. He then nodded at him while moving his tail around.

"As you wish, Issei."

"Okay Rassei," Asia said to her Familiar. "It's time to go night night now."

The familiar magic square appeared at Rassei's feet. After a few seconds, the sprite dragon poofed into green light and disappeared back to the Familiar forest.

"So how about you, Yoruichi?" Issei asked him with a cocked neck. "Aren't you going to do what Rassei just did?"

"I don't plan on it," replied Yoruichi. "If I go back to the Familiar Forest, it would be too boring for me. If it's okay with you, I would like to live with you like a normal house cat would."

Issei blinked at his Familiar's request.

"Um… Sure, that's fine. But I need you to know that you can only speak when you're in my room and if my parents aren't home. They can understand me wanting to adopt a cat, but how it's able to talk is a whole 'nother story."

"Of course. That won't be a problem at all, Issei."

With that settled, Issei, his Familiar, Yoruichi, and Asia stood up and headed towards the exit door.

"Well, we'll see you guys tomorrow," Issei said to the group.

"See you then, Issei and Asia" Kiba said to the two.

"Goodnight," Asia bowed to them before following Issei and Yoruichi out the door, with Kiba and Koneko following afterwards.

Rias smiled in the direction of the door.

"Ise keeps impressing me by the minute."

"For a newby, he's a lucky bad boy," Akeno said with a hand on her cheek. "Not only was he able to get a Familiar, but he's also got the Scale Blade; one of the rarest and unique swords to come across."

Rias smiled at her Queen in agreement. She then turned her head towards her desk and looked at the headband she saved after the dodge ball game. She started to remember why Issei made the headbands, causing her smile to widen.

* * *

"We're home," Issei announced to his parents as he and Asia entered the house.

When Issei's parents looked in the direction the three were at, they widened their eyes a little when they saw a black cat in Issei's arms.

"Aww, that's a cute cat, Issei," Issei's father said. "Where did you find it?"

Issei's mother, Yuki, kept her stare solely on the cat with an unreadable look on her face.

"Oh, this little guy was a stray cat that I ran into on our way home," Issei explained. "When he rubbed against my leg, I couldn't help but take him home with me."

Since Issei planned the discussion about Yoruichi living with them, he was prepared with whatever questions his mother or father were going to ask him.

"I see," his father said. "So, did you give him a name on your way back?"

Issei nodded in response.

"I have. His name is Yoruichi. I named him after a character in my favorite manga."

Yuki widened her eyes in surprise at the name Issei "gave" to the cat.

Issei's father however, just laughed in glee.

"Well now, that's a fine name for the fella. Wouldn't you say, Yuki?"

Yuki snapped out of her shock when she heard her husband call to her and turned her head towards him.

"Y-Yeah, it is. Heheheheh…"

Issei noticed that the smile his mother gave to his father appeared to be forced.

"Hey mom, are you okay?"

Yuki widened her eyes at Issei for a split second and started giggling while scratching the back of her head.

"Oh! Everything's alright, sweetheart," She assured him. "I'm just surprised of the name, that's all."

Issei and Asia raised an eyebrow at Yuki's current behavior. Before Issei could question her any further, she walked back to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the group.

'What was that all about?' Issei wondered in his thoughts.

Sighing, He sat Yoruichi down and escorted Asia to her room.

"You get along with my parents now, Yoruichi," Issei instructed with a wink.

Yoruichi replied with a meow before Issei and Asia made their way upstairs. He then sets his hazel eyes on his father as he approaches him. The cat then jumped onto the couch and lied down next to him with his paws tucked underneath his body.

"Aww, ain't you just adorable?" Issei's father asked as he started to pet Yoruichi's head gently with his right hand. "If I wanted too, I could just cuddle with you all day and all night~."

While Issei's father was petting Yoruichi's back, the latter turned his head to him and narrowed his eyes.

"You can drop the act now, Ryuujin Hyoudou."

The now-named father widened his eyes when Yoruichi started to talk to him. Ryuujin's look then turned serious as his eyes narrowed at the cat and nodded.

"Right, sorry about that, Yoruichi. I just had to make sure the two were in their rooms."

Yoruichi nodded. He then decided to cut to the chase.

"You and Yuki know what he is now, do you? And Asia?"

Ryuujin released a sigh as he looked towards the ground with a worried expression.

"Yeah… we do…"

Before Yoruichi could say anything else, Ryuujin quickly turned his head towards the former.

"Don't get me wrong, we still love him as our son. We're proud that he's becoming strong to be able to protect himself, and we believe he's made great friends with Asia, and Rias Gremory and her Devil servants. It's just…"

He starts to fidget with his fingers as his hands were held together.

"It's just that we're afraid of what might happen to Issei as time goes by." His eyes narrow further. "Especially Yuki. She's as worried as I am."

Yoruichi understood every word Ryuujin was saying. After all, it is natural for a mother and father to worry about their child.

"Don't worry, Ryuujin," he said to him with a smile. "Keep in mind that I have become his Familiar. And as such, I will do whatever I can in my power to keep your son safe."

Ryuujin widened his eyes a little at Yoruichi's declaration. After letting the information sink in, he let his lips curl into a smile as his eyes softened towards the cat. He then turned his head towards the stairway that led to Issei and Asia's rooms with his smile still intact.

"Thank you, Yoruichi. I leave him in your care."

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **~OVA Epilogue Time! Woot Woot!~**

Students of Kuoh Academy, male and female were crowded around the Tennis courts. They were currently waiting for a two on two Tennis match to begin. The audience consisted of mostly girls because of who was competing in this game.

This tennis match was between two teams that consisted of a guy and a girl as partners. One team was a girl named Maria, and a guy named Lucas. Their opponents were the reason the audience for the game consisted of mostly girls.

The girl was the tennis club captain, Kiyome Abe, and the guy as her partner, was a mildly blushing Issei Hyoudou.

Remembering the promise Rias made to Kiyome, the former told Issei to meet up with Kiyome and get a pair of clothes suited for tennis, and he did just that.

His tennis clothes consisted of a white shirt and pants that both have blue stripes on their sides. On his wrists, he wore two black wrist sweatbands that have Bleach's Shinigami logo, a skull surrounded by a blue flame, sewn on both of them.

Issei was currently holding his tennis racket in both hands while blushing from all of the compliments and cheers he was getting from all of the girls. He was getting the usual "He's so cute~" and "He's gonna rock it~" from them, making him more flustered than he is.

He also noticed that Reya, who was taking brief glances at him with red cheeks without him realizing, was spectating their match, just like she did in the game between the Gremorys and Sitris.

 _And we all know how that game went._

"So, you ready, Issei-kun?"

Issei snapped out of his shyness when he heard the voice of Kiyome call to her. When he turned to face her, the familiar red in his cheeks returned when he saw her cute face looking at him with a small smile. The duo were going to be the first ones to serve the ball, hence why she was holding the tennis ball in her left hand.

"Y-yeah, I am," Issei replied while scratching the back of his head, earning a soft giggle from the brown-haired captain.

"Issei Hyoudou,"

Issei's attention was now on Lucas, who sent him a kind smile once Issei looked at him, much to the former's surprise.

"I hope for a swell game from you. No offense, but I'm not sure if Abe-san chose her partner wisely."

'Finally, a guy who's not jealous that I have fangirls,' Issei said in his thoughts with a sigh of relief. He then gave Lucas a smile of his own.

"Not to worry. I may not have played the sport before, but I'll use what I've got to make it worth while."

"Ha ha ha!" Lucas lets out an excited laugh. "I'll be looking forward to it then!"

"Go, Issei-san!"

Issei widened his eyes when he heard a familiar voice behind him. When he turned around ot find the source, his eyes remained wide when he saw Asia, who was accompanied with the rest of the ORC group, cheering him on.

"Go for the win, Issei-kun!" Akeno cheered with a jump in the air with a fist pump, making her boobs jiggle at said jump.

Issei just scratched the back of his head with a bashful look on his face. He kinda knew the reason why Rias and crew were going to watch the game he was competing him, and he only guessed it was because of the brief glances Rias was giving to Kiyome.

'Could Buchou be jealous?'

Before he could question it any further, he felt his shoulder being tapped on by Kiyome. He turned towards her to see that she was ready to serve the ball.

"Get ready, Issei-kun," she said with a smile. "We're about to start."

"I wish you and Abe-san the best of luck," Lucas said to Issei with his gentle smile still intact.

"And to you too, Lucas," Issei replied with a smile back. "May the best player win."

Kiyome threw the ball in the air and gave it a hard strike with her racket.

Lucas saw the ball approaching him, and when it was close enough to him, he hit it with a sideways strike, making the ball travel towards Issei.

Issei gripped the handle of his racket tightly as he watches the ball fly at him at a rapid pace. He positions the racket at his left while mentally crossed his fingers that he'd hit the ball. When he saw that the ball was about six feet from him, he decided to go for the swing. And to his surprise and relief, he actually hit the ball.

Most of the girls in the audience cheered on Issei after his successful hit as the ball went flying towards Maria. Issei ignored the cheers while having a tinge of pink in his cheeks as he continued to focus on the game.

After Maria sent the ball flying towards Kiyome, the latter hit it back, and the pattern on who hits the ball next was nearly the same afterwards, with Issei being grateful that his athleticism and skills from his previous battles were enough to stand a chance in the game. Though, he was a little weirded out when his fangirls cheer for him every time he hits the ball. Even a couple of third year students were giving him some cheers for him and Kiyome to win.

"Kick their butts, Issei-kun/chan/senpai!" the fangirls cheered.

"Go for it, Kiyome-chan/senpai!" some of the boys said.

Meanwhile, Rias and her other four servants watched the game with amused expressions.

"Ara ara, who knew Issei-kun would get the hang of it in a snap?" Akeno commented.

"He's keeping up the pace too," Kiba said. "He's not even using his… What does he call it again?"

"Shunpo."

Kiba turned his head towards Koneko when he heard her answer his question.

"Yeah, that's it. Thanks, Koneko-san," Kiba thanked with closed eyes while scratching his cheek.

"I have to warn you, Hyoudou," Lucas says while still focusing on the game. "I am known by some of the students here to have a pretty good speed shot."

Seeing the tennis ball approach him gave him the cue to show off what he was talking about.

"I hope you're ready!"

With a swing of his racket, Lucas sent the ball flying in Issei's direction at high speed.

Issei widened his eyes at how fast the ball was going. But that wasn't going to stop him from at least trying to counter it.

Issei positions the racket to his left side as if he was wielding a samurai sword. Once he saw that the ball was at least ten inches from him, he swings it to the right.

CLANG!

Issei successfully hit the ball. He didn't know that he did until he heard thunderous cheers and applauds from the audience.

"15-00!" Reya called out with a little excitement coming from her voice.

"I… scored..?" Issei asked with wide eyes.

"Well, that was a close one," Kiyome said to him with a wide smile.

"It was just a lucky shot," Issei replied with a nervous look.

"Ara, there's no need to be modest, Issei-kun."

Issei just scratched the back of his head while chuckling nervously.

"That was impressive, Hyoudou," Lucas complimented. "You're speed ball's even faster than my own."

'Wait, my strike actually sent the ball flying that fast?!' Issei thought with his eyes widening again.

"Alright then," Lucas calls out as he readies himself with his racket in both hands. "That's the only speed shot I'll do! Let's try to keep this fun!"

Issei nodded to him with a small smile in response while being mentally thankful that he's a polite man who isn't jealous of him.

After the ball got served again, the pattern of who hits the ball were about the same as the last serve.

The audience continued cheering on the players who they want to win.

"Sheesh, the crowd's really getting hyped up on this game," Rias said while pushing her bangs out of her eyes. She then deadpanned. "And most of them are cheering for-"

"Hyoudou-kun! WHOOOOOOOOOOH!"

"Please calm yourself down, Tsubasa."

The ORC group turned their heads left and slightly widened their eyes to see two familiar people next to them, with one of them being the most pumped up.

"Tsubaki? What are you and Tsubasa doing here?"

Keeping her serious expression, she adjusted her blue glasses and set her eyes on the tennis court.

"When we found out that there will be a tennis game between Hyoudou-kun and Kiyome, and Lucas and Maria, Kaichou gave Tsubasa permission to watch the game after her countless pleading."

Tsubaki took a breath before continuing.

"And I'm here to make sure she doesn't… hang around for too long after the game ends."

Rias raised an eyebrow at her reason why she's here because of how she paused at her sentence. Akeno however, giggled at her because she knew the real reason why she was here with Tsubasa.

Time passed by for ten minutes. Issei and Kiyome have a score of 40 points while Lucas and Maria were able to catch up to them with a score of 30 points. If the latter team scores again, the two teams will be at deuce and one of the teams will have to score twice via advantage.

Issei was given the ball so he would be the one to serve.

"Well, well, this is the most fun in Tennis I've ever had yet," Lucas said with his happy-go-lucky-expression."

'Good lord, he is one happy camper,' Issei said in his mind with a deadpan. 'But, again, at least he's not jealous or being pissy with me.

"Now then, Hyoudou," Lucas said, readying himself. "Let's see how you serve. Impress me with how strong your swing can be."

Issei raised a confused eyebrow at Lucas.

'He actually wants me to go all out?'

"Go for the shot, Issei-kun," Kiyome said to him with a smile and a wink.

Issei widened his eyes a little at his partner because she knew exactly what she was talking about, judging by the tone of her voice she was using.

'Well, might as well,' Issei concluded in his head, sighing. 'After all, I feel like I'm gonna pass out with all of those damn fangirls constantly cheering my name.'

Issei clutched the ball in his left hand and threw it in the air. He then raised his racket above his head to hit the ball towards the opponent.

After he did that, Maria saw that the ball was coming right towards her at a rather fast speed.

After the ball bounced once on her side of the court, Maria kept her cool and got ready to hit the ball back at Issei and Kiyome.

She gripped her racket, narrowed her eyes, and swung it just at the right time to counter Issei's serve.

Or so she thought.

She widened her eyes when she realized that she had missed Issei's serve. She and Lucas were astonished to discover that Issei's swing was so strong, it caused the ball to whiz on by Maria in unbelievable speed.

"Hyoudou-kun and Abe-san win!"

The crowd went wild after Reya made that announcement. Most of the students cheered for Issei while the rest were for Kiyome.

Tsubaki and the ORC Devils, minus Asia since she was cheering on Issei and Kiyome's victory, covered their ears when Tsubasa squealed in happiness while jumping up and down clapping her hands rapidly.

"It's over?" A random boy in the crowd asked himself.

The second boy turned to the third one with a neutral expression, getting the latter's attention.

"The end was anticlimactic and completely devoid of any cathartic experience."

The third boy deadpanned at him.

"I didn't understand a word you said."

While the crowd continued cheering for the victors, the four tennis players were holding a conversation as they made their way to the locker room to change.

"You played well, Hyoudou," Lucas complimented. "You were even able to finish the game with just a strong serve."

Issei chucled shyly while scratching the back of his head.

"It was nothing. Hell, I didn't even mean to swing it that hard."

"But still, either way, it was enjoyable."

Issei then saw Maria bow to him and Kiyome in respect.

"It was nice playing with you."

Issei and Kiyome returned a bow to Maria before parting ways to their separate locker rooms. Issei and Lucas to the boys', and Kiyome and Maria to the girls'.

* * *

After they got their uniforms back on, Issei and Lucas shared their goodbyes and the former went to where his friends are.

"Hello again~."

Issei gasped when he felt his right arm get trapped in a hug by a woman's arms. His cheeks started to turn a light red color when he then felt his arm inbetween something soft.

When he turned around to see who it was, he widened his eyes to see that it was Kiyome, his former tennis partner for the game that was promised by Rias.

"Oh, hey, Kiyome-san," Issei greeted with a nervous expression.

"Thank you very much for being my tennis partner," Kiyome said. "Even if it was only for one game."

"Yeah… No problem," Issei replied while scratching the back of his head with his free arm.

Issei's blush turned darker when Kiyome's hold on his arm got tighter.

"H-hey, are you alr-AAAGGH!"

Issei's face became as red as a cherry when he saw her face being rather close to his own.

"I really had a great time with you, Issei-kun," Kiyome said with what appeared to be eyes of lust.

"I… I…"

Issei was having a hard time coming up with what to say. Kiyome's face was four inches away from his own.

"You're so cute when you're shy~." She said, blushing a dark shade of red with a sweet smile.

"I… I get that a lot," responded Issei, looking away from her. "Now, if you don't mind, I've really got to-"

His eyes widened when he felt his hands getting held by Kiyome's own. He looked and widened his eyes to see that she was getting closer to him. She got close enough to him to the point where her breasts were now pressing against his chest, making Issei more flustered by the second.

"Come on, stay with me a little while longer," Kiyome begged. "I'd really like to get to know you well."

" _MAYDAY! MAYDAY!"_ Issei's chibi form screamed as he was bouncing around in the real Issei's x-rayed cranium. _"WE'RE PASSING OUT! WE'RE PASSING OUT!"_

"Well… I… Um…"

"Kiyome."

Issei and Kiyome's eyes widened a little when they heard a familiar voice behind the former. The two turned to see Rias with her arms folded under her bust, tapping her foot impatiently.

Behind her were the rest of the ORC team: Akeno, who had her eyes closed while smiling, Kiba, who too was smiling, Koneko, who just looked at Issei and Kiyome with her neutral expression, and Asia, who had her hands balled up into fists while having a cute pout.

"Can't you see you're making my servant nervous?" Rias finished with furrowed eyebrows and a stare aiming right at Kiyome.

Kiyome giggled with closed eyes as she lets go of Issei's hands and took three steps back from him.

"Aww, can't I at least hang out with him for a while?"

"Sorry Kiyome," Rias said. "But Ise does have his duties as a Devil."

Kiyome let a playful pout form on her lips. But she then smiled as she made her way home, but not without sending Issei a goodbye wink, causing the brown-haired boy's cheeks to tinge pink.

"I'll see you later, Issei-kun."

Kiyome continued her way home, leaving Issei alone with his Devil friends.

'That was a close one,' he said in his thoughts.

" _NEVER MIND!"_ Issei's chibi form shouted from the real one's head being x-rayed again. _"WE'RE SAFE! WE'RE SAFE!"_ The chibi Issei proceeded to bounce around while going: _"WHOO HOO! WHOO HOO! WHOO HOO!"_

Issei then turned to the ORC folks while scratching the back of his head.

"Hey guys."

"You were amazing out there," Asia said with a smile.

"Yeah," agreed Kiba. "You've really got a talent for sports."

"Aww, come on guys," Issei said with his hands out in front of him. "I was relying on instinct."

"Hey there, tiger."

Issei blinked when he felt a light punch on his shoulder. When he turned around, his eyes slightly opened wide to see Tsubasa giving him a warm smile and wave, with Tsubaki and Reya accompanying her.

"Tsubasa-san… Shinra-senpai…"

"Congratulations on winning the tennis game," Tsubasa said. "I was cheering for you all the way."

"Heheheh. Thanks. That was nice of you," Issei replied with a kind smile. He then set his sights to Tsubaki, surprising the latter a little.

"Though, I wasn't expecting you to show up. You being the Fukukaichou of the student council, after all."

Tsubaki turned towards Issei's direction, trying her best to suppress her blush.

Before she could say anything though, Akeno lets out giggle, getting everyone's attention.

"Isn't it obvious, Issei-kun? She came here to watch the game too. And if my eyes didn't deceive me, she got excited and applauded for your victory."

"She has?" Issei asked with pink cheeks.

Tsubaki's eyes widened with a dark blush after Akeno's explanation to Issei.

The brown-haired boy then noticed Tsubaki's blushing face.

"Hey, Shinra-senpai, are you okay?"

Tsubaki widened her eyes further and turned to Issei when she heard him call to her. She then looked away from him, trying to force her blush down.

"I-I'm fine, Hyoudou-kun."

Tsubaki then turned to Reya and Tsubasa.

"We are leaving now."

The two girls nodded at Tsubaki and followed her lead. While walking with her, Tsubasa turned her head towards Issei and gave waved him goodbye with a smile and a wink.

Issei tilted his head at Tsubaki's behavior before she signaled Reya and Tsubasa to follow her back to the council room. He then turned to Rias, who was smiling at him.

"You did a great job in the tennis game," she said to him. "I'm proud of you on that."

Issei just smiled and scratched the back of his head again.

"Thanks."

"Now then," Rias said to her servants. "Let's head back to the club room. We've still got club activities to take care of."

"Right!"

With that said, The ORC team made their way towards the old school building to do more Devil business.

While they were doing so, Issei couldn't help but notice that when they made it to the old school building's doors', he saw that Rias was staring off to the side with a distressed look; the same look she had back when she was training him, back at home when Rias talked his parents into letting Asia live in his home, and at the club room that night after Issei and Asia finished delivering fliers.

'There it is again. What's going on with her?'

Issei then sighed, still not having a clue about why she's always spacing off like this.

'Whatever it is, I just hope she'll be okay.'

 **~OVA Epilogue end.~**

* * *

 **Author's note: Happy New Year, Folks (Even though it's pretty darn late to say that XD)! I hope you all had a great Christmas last year. I sure as heck did. I got me some games as early gifts down early December. I got Wolfenstein II: The new colossus and played the crap out of that till the ending, and I've got the collection I've been meaning to play for a long time: the Bioshock collection! I've only played and beaten the first one so far, and I have yet to play and beat infinite (decided not to play 2).**

 **Speaking of playing games, I've actually gotten ideas for temporary one shot DXD fics thanks to the inspiration from the following two games: Madworld and One Finger Death Punch. But, I doubt I'll get to work on those, because there is one event in _The Masked Dragon Emperor_ that I really want to write.**

 **I've also got a Wacom Intuos Pro small for Christmas. I've mostly doodled and screwed around with it, but if I ever have the time, maybe I can draw a cover for my fanfic? My drawing skill's kinda crap, so I doubt I'll ever do that :/.**

 **Anyway, enough of how my Christmas went, let's get to what just happened in this chapter:**

 **Issei has triumphed against the mysterious man in the cloak after finding his resolve in his fear of the outcome of his attacks. And as his reward, the man entrusted him with the Scale Blade, making him the next "Keeper" of the weapon. He even knows who Issei is too. How? We won't know for sure. Not yet.**

 **Yup! Yoruichi from the bleach series is Issei's Familiar! Because hey, pretty much anything is possible in FanFiction! :D P.S. Issei thinks she's a male in this fic because, well, he doesn't know her true gender yet.**

 **Issei's mother and father, Yuki and Ryuujin know that their son has become a Devil. While Ryuujin has told Yoruichi that they still love him as their son and believe that his Devil friends are great friends he's made. It's just that he, especially Yuki, are afraid of what might happen to him.**

 **How were they able to know that Issei, Rias, Asia, and possibly the rest of the ORC gang are Devils? And how do they know Yoruichi? Well… I'm keeping my mouth shut on this one.**

 **Welp, that's that with the A.N. Now that school's back on for me, and that I want to try to draw something with my wacom tablet eventually, I won't be constant on writing the story.**

 **Coming up next: The Phenex Bird Arc.**

 **Next chapter: "The unwanted fiance"; Issei will eventually discover the true reason for Rias' spacing out.**

 **Issei's current Harem: Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubaki, Tsubasa, Reya, Aika, Kiyome, Murayama.**

 **Until next time, folks!**


	12. Chapter 11: The unwanted groom

_**Before we begin…**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

 **{Ddraig speaking from the Boosted Gear and in Issei's Dream world.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement.}_

" _Flashback quotes; Chibi Issei."_

 _ **Right, moving on!**_

Chapter 11: The unwanted groom

* * *

"Dammit! It's not fair, bro!"

"This has to be some kind of mistake!"

Issei was zipping his head around an unknown area when he heard the voices of two angry perverts. He widened his eyes in surprise when he saw the infamous Perverted Duo sobbing away while looking in his direction.

Upon further inspection, his eyes widened when they were wearing tuxedos, not their school uniforms.

"What the Hell are you two doing here?" Issei asked them. Unfortunately he didn't get an answer from them as they continued sobbing in what appeared to be jealousy.

Issei then noticed something in the bottom corner of his eyes and shifted them down for further investigation. Doing so, he was shocked to see that he too was wearing a tuxedo with a standard black tie with a white shirt underneath, and black dress pants and dress shoes.

"What the..? Why am I wearing this?!"

"UUUUGGGGH! Why is it you who gets to wed such a hot chick?!"

"What?!" Issei locked his shocked stare on Matsuda. "I'm getting married?!"

"I hope our first grandchild is a girl!"

Issei widened his eyes and zipped around to find that his mother, accompanied with his father, were crying in joy of this 'Special occasion'.

"It's about time our son finally got together with a girl!" said his father with stars in his eyes. "We're so proud of you, champ!"

"Stop screwing around!" Issei shouted with a tick mark. "Who said I was getting hitched?! I don't even know who I'm even marrying!"

"This is a special moment, my daring Ise~."

Issei recognized that voice from his right.

"Buchou?!"

When he turned his head right to look at Rias, he was stunned to see that she was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress with a white hood of the dress folded behind her head. She was also carrying white roses in her hands as she was looking at Issei with love in her eyes.

"Prince of Justice!"

Issei flinched with red cheeks when he heard a group of girls call out to him with that nickname. He never got over being called that by his fangirls.

"Why would you marry someone like her?!" one girl asked with jealousy in her tone.

"I know she's really beautiful," another girl started. "But if you give me a chance, I'll prove to you that I'm much more worthy of being your bride!"

Issei began to sweat while taking a step back from Rias, who was approaching him with a sultry smile and softened eyes.

'Yeah, I think it's safe to say that this is a dream! There's no way in the unknown depths below that we'd be hitched right away!'

"You may now kiss the bride."

Issei jumped with wide eyes when he saw Rias pucker her lips with closed eyes at him after the Priest gave them the green light.

"Oh crap! Hang on! It's too sudden! I-"

 **{This is where your dream ends, Issei Hyoudou!}**

Issei Widened his eyes as the entire area turned pitch black when he heard the voice of Ddraig talk to him. Issei then blinked twice at what just happened.

At his third blink, he jumped when he saw that he was now in his Dream World. He was currently sitting on a bench in front of a four foot building where Ddraig is sitting on top of.

Issei shook his head to snap out of his shock and looked at Ddraig.

"Dude, thanks for busting me out of that dream man," he said to the Dragon gratefully.

 **{Of course. Knowing you, you'd get easily flustered to the point you'll become unconscious. Even though it was a dream.}**

Issei chuckled with a sweat drop while scratching the back of his head. He then set a puzzled stare towards his feet.

"Still, why would I dream of a wedding between me and Buchou?"

 **{Heh! I was going to ask _you_ that, partner.} **Ddraig said with an almost noticable smirk on his lips.

"I didn't ask for this!" Issei retorted with an agitated expression with a tick mark. "I'm too young to think about something like marriage!"

Issei then turned his head right towards no one in particular with a beady eyed deadpan.

"And I'm probably gonna piss a lot of people off for saying this, but I don't even have a crush on her."

Issei then sighed a breath of frustration as he looked upwards towards the sky.

"But yeah, I never wanted a dream like this."

 **{Hmm…}**

Issei looked towards Ddraig when he heard him thinking about something.

"Something on your mind?"

Ddraig looked at Issei after he got through his thoughts.

 **{I was thinking about why you were dreaming a wedding between you and your master. I don't know for sure if this is really the case, but it's worth a shot.}**

"Alright. Lay it on me."

 **{After observing the previous day where you were with Rias, talking your parents into allowing Asia to live in your home, I assumed that this is some kind of foreshadowing that involves a wedding between her, and some scumbag.}**

Issei raised an eyebrow at this. He then widened his eyes a little when he started remembering that day.

"Well, I do remember hearing her say something when I asked if Asia and I aren't really going to wed."

 **{Yes. Her words were: _"If you're lucky"_.}**

Issei widened his eyes when he heard Ddraig say this.

"H-How did you know what she said?"

 **{Since you are the host of me and the Boosted Gear, I am able to hear and see anything you hear and see.}**

"Damn." Issei was impressed with his explanation. "I didn't think you could do that until now."

 **{Though, most of the time I just sleep due to how boring some parts of your day are.}**

Issei shot a narrow eyed deadpan at Ddraig.

"Aaaaaaand you killed the mood."

 **{What? I can't help it. You weren't doing any fighting during those times I was asleep, if that makes you feel better.}**

Issei lets out another sigh. He then thought about Ddraig's assumption about his wedding dream.

"Well, this is quite the conundrum, eh?"

 **{Yes, it is. But right now, you are about to awaken from your slumber. Until we speak to each other again, Partner.}**

Issei lets out one last sigh after Ddraig told him about his awakening.

'I can't help but feel our exits from our conversation end so abruptly.'

* * *

Issei blinked twice as he has awakened from his slumber. He looked at the clock to check on the time and saw that it said 5:50 AM. He lets out a sigh as he discovers that he has woken up early again.

'I wonder if this will become a reoccurring thing?'

Issei removed the covers off of his body and walked towards his closet to get his school clothes on. After he got dressed, he lets out another sigh.

"Whatever is happening with Buchou, I just hope she'll be okay. What if what Ddraig told me is true."

"Ah, good morning, Issei."

Issei blinked when he heard his Familiar, Yoruichi talk to him. He looked down and saw that he was standing by Issei's closet while looking at him with his hazel eyes.

"Oh, morning Yoruichi," he greeted back. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, I have," Yoruichi replied nodding. "And I must say, you're parents are quite the happy people."

Issei chuckled.

"Yeah, they're really great people."

"So how about you, Issei? How'd you sleep?"

Issei's eyes opened a little at his question. He then looked towards the ceiling.

"It was okay. But I did have a weird dream."

"Really? Would you like to enlighten me on it?"

Issei thought about it for a moment and looked back at Yoruichi.

"Nah. It's nothing important."

Yoruichi didn't respond. He just kept looking at his master with an unreadable expression while swinging his tail around.

"By the way, Issei."

Issei turned to him again after getting his shoes on.

"What's up?"

"I would like to let you know that both of your swords have been stored in each shinai bag. You can find them on the top shelf of your closet."

"Really?"

Issei opened his closet door and looked up at its top shelf. Confirming Yoruichi's words, he saw two black shinai bags up there. One was a standard size for a katana sword, and the other was a large one, about the size of Issei's large sword.

Assuming that the former shinai bag carried the Scale Blade, He reached his hand for the larger bag and took it off the shelf. He then took the sheathed sword out of the shinai bag and slightly unsheathed it.

"Damn," Issei said with a smirk as he unsheathed it a little further. "Kiba wasn't lying when he said he could get it fixed."

Issei sheathed the blade back in its scabbard and stored it back in the shinai bag. After putting the weapon back on the top shelf of his closet, he shut the door and looked back at Yoruichi.

"I assume you're going ahead to deliver fliers to potential clients?"

"Of course," replied Yoruichi. "But I'm going to wait until you leave for school before doing that duty."

Issei nodded at him in response to his answer. He then decided to ask him one more question out of curiosity.

"Hey, you do have a human form, don't you? When I was first told about Familiars, I assumed they all had human forms when I saw Buchou's Familiar transform."

"Worry not, Issei," Yoruichi assured. "I indeed do have a human form." He then lets out a chuckle. "Do you have any idea how people would react if they saw a stray cat with a stack of fliers on its back and was delivering them to person after person, and door after door?"

Issei and Yoruichi share a laugh together at the latter's question. After a few seconds, Issei went ahead towards his room's door to have breakfast with his Parents and Asia. Before doing so, he gave his Familiar a smile and a wave.

"Alright dude, I'll see you later. And good luck with the deliveries."

Issei shuts the door behind him and made his way downstairs. After seeing him leave, Yoruichi lets a smile form on his lips.

"Oh, Issei. If only you knew what I _really_ look like."

* * *

[Opening song: Bleach: Brave Souls intro]

* * *

After another long day at school, Issei was staring down at his desk while sitting quietly. He was still thinking about how Rias has been behaving recently. When him and Asia were walking together to school and saw Rias walking with Akeno, they naturally waved her hello. While they did get a wave from Akeno, and a wink for Issei, causing his cheeks to tinge pink at that, they never got an answer from Rias. In fact, Issei saw a familiar look she has from the previous times he saw it.

She looked distressed; afraid of whatever was going to happen to her in the near future.

Before Issei and Asia could approach her to ask if she was okay, they heard the warning bell, signaling them to hurry up and get to class.

'Buchou, you're worrying me and Asia. What's going on?'

His eyebrows furrowed when he thought about Ddraig's guess in why Rias was having these depressed expressions.

"Issei-san, is everything alright?"

Issei snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Asia next to him. He turned his head towards her and saw that she had a worried look on her face.

"*Sigh*. I'm fine Asia. I'm just worried about Buchou. This wasn't the first time she acted like this."

Asia nodded in response. She understood what Issei was talking about, and she too was worried about Rias.

"I'm wondering that myself."

With a sigh, Issei got up from his desk and made his way towards the ORC club room, with Asia following behind him.

* * *

While Issei and Asia were walking down the hallway, Issei was still thinking about Rias.

'Maybe we'll get an answer out of her when we meet up with her.'

Asia noticed Issei's worried expression and decided to grab onto his hand to comfort him.

Issei felt her hand onto his and turned his head towards her to see her have a confident look on her face.

"Don't worry, Issei-san, I'm sure we'll find a way to cheer her up."

Issei couldn't help but smile at her resolve. He was happy to know that she'd be willing to do what she can to make her friends happy.

The two were just halfway towards the exit of the school. Before they could head towards the door, the two, along with the other students who were minding their own business jumped and looked towards where the girls' locker room was when the heard a loud bang coming from in their.

"What on Earth was that?!" Asia asked with slightly wide eyes.

Issei got in front of Asia and narrowed his eyes towards the girls' locker room's door.

'Why am I getting the feeling that I know what's obviously going on in there?'

BANG!

The door flew open, causing everyone, except for Issei, to jump again due to how loud the sound was. Out from the locker room sliding came two bruised up students who everyone recognized as the Perverted duo. Matsuda was on the floor face downwards with his legs sticking up in the air, while Motohama was facing upwards on the ground balanced on his neck.

"Of course. It's those jerk-off artists," a blonde-haired girl said in annoyance.

"They don't know when to quit, do they?" the brunette girl asked to the previous girl.

"Why can't they be gentlemen like Issei-kun is?" the third girl with gray hair asked while looking at Issei with stars in her eyes and a light-red blush.

While Issei kept his tough act on while staring at the two perverts, he did have some red dusting his cheeks because of that girl's compliment on him.

While groaning in pain, the perverts looked upwards as they tried to get up. Before they could do that, they froze in place when they saw a pissed off Issei Hyoudou staring right at them with a full-blown scowl.

"Oi, Asia,"

Asia blinked twice and looked at Issei when he called her name.

"Y-yes? What is it, Issei-san?"

Asia then widened his eyes a little when his glare towards the perverted duo got deadlier.

"You might want to look away from this."

The perverted duo widened their eyes in fear when they heard loud popping sounds coming from Issei's knuckles as he held them together.

"They're mine."

Before Issei could beat the perverted duo into a bloody pulp, he heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance of the girls' locker room and looked to see a familiar face.

Walking towards the perverted duo was a pissed off Koneko Toujou. She was still wearing her Kuoh academy uniform, much to the two perverts' dismay.

As she made it to them, Koneko sets her sights on Issei, with the latter tilting his head to the right.

"Leave them to me," She said to him. "I'm the victim of their peeping, so it's only fair _I_ get my revenge."

Issei widened his eyes a little at her request, but then smirked devilishly, knowing her Rook strength and that she might've been seen in the nude, or was partially naked while the perverted duo somehow got in the girls' locker room to… fulfill their desires.

"We'll see you at the club, Koneko-chan," Issei said before him and Asia made their way out of the school building.

Koneko held a surprised expression on her face with Issei's decision to allow her to mess the two perverts up. So far, when she first met the guy, she has started to know him as a kind man with a tough and shy personality. She also appreciated him for not being a hardcore pervert. But she never expected him to be _this_ kind; him allowing her to teach the perverted duo a lesson for peeping on the girls, and her.

Her cheeks then tinged a little red when she remembered him being very apologetic to her for his interaction with her Familiar, Shiro, and how his interactions made Akeno record the cat nuzzling Issei's face.

Because of those events, and with how Issei is willing to do anything to keep his friends and close ones safe, she began to have some respect for Issei.

Koneko then shook her thoughts away and sent her icy stare at the perverted duo before they could get away, slowly approaching them while cracking her knuckles.

"Heh… Heh… No hard feelings… Right?" Matsuda choked out, praying that he and his friend will survive.

Koneko's eyes narrowed at them.

"Oh, you'll feel something alright."

The perverted duo hugged each other, knowing that there's no hope left for them.

* * *

"Huh?"

Asia stopped her walking when she and Issei heard the sound of screaming.

"What's going on in there?"

Issei placed a hand on her shoulder, making her turn towards him to see a reassuring smile on his face.

"Don't worry. It's just two old perverts getting what's coming to them."

"Oh. Well… Okay."

Issei and Asia continued to make their way towards the old school building. After a two minutes pass by, the two finally made it to the entrance of the building. Approaching the door, Issei reached his hand for the handle of the door before…

"Hey man! It's not my fault that I was chosen to be a part of the Student Council!"

"Shut up, ya blonde bastard!"

Issei shifted his brown eyes to the right when he and Asia heard the sound of arguing. Upon further inspection, he widened his eyes to see four angry male students surrounding a familiar blonde boy.

"Genshiro."

Without hesitation, Issei removed his hand from the door handle and slowly made his way towards the boys.

"Issei-san, is something wrong?" Asia asked him with a hint of worry in her voice.

Issei stopped his walking and turned his head around to face Asia with a stern look in his eyes, surprising the latter.

"Asia, get inside the building and meet up with Buchou and the others. I'll catch up later."

Asia widened her eyes at the tone of his voice when he gave her that instruction. The way he worded it made her feel worried for him.

"But… Issei-san-"

"Don't worry, I'll be alright," Issei assured her with a light smile. "Now go."

Asia blinked twice at him before nodding her head in response, entering the school building like he told her to do. She was able to find her way to the club room thanks to Issei and her other Devil friends' help with where to go.

After she entered, Issei continued his path towards Saji and the four outraged boys, ready for anything that might happen when he finally meets up with them.

* * *

Saji had his fists up after he dodged three of the boys' attacks. He was trained under his master, Sona, and his fellow Devils: Momo and Ruruko the basics of combat, but he was unsure if the amount of training he got during his first week will be enough to handle the boys, especially all four of them at once.

Saji growled in irritation at the boys because of their reasons for attacking him.

"Come on guys!" Saji retorted. "There's no reason to be jealous over my status as the secretary!"

"Oh yes there is!" the leader of the four boys said in anger. He had black spiky hair and dark-red eyes. "You being in the Student Council means that you're sucking up all of he glory!"

"Yeah!" Agreed one of his henchmen, the purple haired boy. "You must feel real lucky having to be around those girls every day after school!"

Saji's cheeks tinged pink when he mentioned the girls. Sure, they were all cute and beautiful in their own unique way to him, but he doesn't necessarily call himself lucky in his head all of the time. He does take his job seriously.

"You're wrong! I don't focus too much on how hot the girls of the Council are! I actually do my job and I do my best to do it well!"

"Hmph!" The leader cracked his knuckles while he and his henchmen started gaining on him.

"Say what you want, blonde! In the end, you'll know the consequences for interacting with the beauties of the Student council!"

Saji began to sweat bullets as the four delinquents got closer and closer to him.

"You want to beat him up just because he's simply a part of the Student Council and interacts with them? How head-achingly cliché."

Saji and the delinquents turned their heads to find where the source of the voice came from. The boys widened their eyes, with Saji being the most surprised to see who it was standing their with a glare aiming right at the leader of the delinquents.

'Hyoudou?'

"Well, well, well," the leader said with a cocky grin. "If it isn't the so called 'Prince of Justice'."

Issei kept his glare on the leader while standing his ground.

"If you've come to save that bastard over there," an orange-haired henchman said while pointing at Saji. "Then you've made a big mistake, punk!"

"Hmph!" Issei crossed his arms as he sets his stern eyes on the henchman. "I've dealt with bastards stronger than all of you four, so it's probably best that you cease your threats."

Issei then walked towards them with his serious look intact.

"I'll give you one chance on this," Issei continued. "Leave Genshiro alone and walk away."

The delinquents growled at Issei for the request he's made.

"You seem to misunderstand our motives," the leader said with an annoyed expression. "That blonde bastard was able to be with some gorgeous ladies that run the Student Council. _We_ could have run this school better than him, but no, the Kaichou had to choose that little shit over there."

Issei scowled at the leader, surprising Saji and the leader's henchmen with how he was still here.

"I've heard what you've said while I was on my way towards you jackasses."

The delinquents growled at what Issei has called them.

"And by the looks of you boys, all you guys would do is abuse the power of the Council and use it for your own selfish pleasure."

The leader started to growl at Issei.

"Why you little-"

"Hyoudou! Get out of here!"

The delinquents turned their heads, while Issei shifted his eyes, towards Saji, who was calling out to him while sweating.

"It's me they're after! There's no need for you to get involved!"

Issei kept his stare on Saji. While his expression was still stern, in his thoughts, he knows that he isn't trained enough to defend himself from four and more people at once.

"Brat's got a point."

Issei shifted his eyes back at the leader when he heard him talk to him.

"This is between us, and the damn secretary. So why don't you piss off before you become our next punching bag?!"

Issei took this as a sign that they aren't going to leave Saji alone. Even though Saji has been rude to him when they met for the second time in the ORC club room, Issei still wanted to get along with him as a fellow Pawn, despite him being able to piss him off at times.

Issei sighed a breath and began walking towards the leader's third henchman, who had short spiky black hair and black glasses with circular lenses.

"Tell me boys," Issei began. "Do any of you four have insurance?"

The delinquents blinked at Issei's question, three of them: The leader, the orange-haired, and purple-haired boys' eyes twitched, while the one with the glasses started shivering as Issei got closer and closer to him.

"Come on. Answer," Issei encourage with mocked curiosity in his voice. "We all need something to cover whatever the Hell happens to us."

"Um…" Issei locked eyes with the delinquent he approached as he slightly had his hand up. "My parents and I have medical insurance."

Issei smirked at the boy, causing the latter to jump a little.

"Then you're the luckiest of the four."

"Eh?"

POW!

Before the glasses-wearing delinquent could say anything else, Issei landed a punch on his face and sent his body colliding towards a tree. The boy then fell to the ground face down unconscious.

Saji and the remaining three delinquents widened their eyes at Issei's actions. The Three delinquents then got into a fighting positions as they saw Issei turn around to face the boys with his smirk intact.

"As for those who don't have any, I'll make sure you're in as much pain as that guy's in."

'Oh shit!' Saji exclaimed in his head. 'He's actually gonna fight them?!'

Before Saji could try again to tell Issei to run away, he started to recall the time where he and Issei's peerage were fighting the Hollows, and that made him decide to shut up for now.

Issei saw the orange-haired delinquent charge at him with his fists cocked back. Issei then began dodging a series of punches being thrown at him.

While he was dodging, he noted how the delinquent's barrage of fists were mediocre and were not up to par with his speed.

Issei waited for the delinquent to throw another punch at him. As the latter did, he grabbed his fist with his right hand.

The delinquent winced in pain when Issei's grip on his fist got tighter and tighter by the second. Wanting him to let go, the boy used his left fist to punch his face, but failed when Issei saw his fist coming and grabbed it with his other hand.

"Grrrrrr! Damn you!"

Before the orange-haired delinquent could do anything else, Issei pulled his arms to bring him close and slammed his knee onto his stomach four times. When he hit his stomach with his knee the fifth time, he sent the delinquent flying five feet away from him. The boy then landed on the ground on his back and was rendered unconscious.

The last two delinquents were in utter shock at how Issei defeated their friend. Saji just looked on with an amused expression, as he expected him to defeat him after his past experience with the Hollows.

Issei then sets his glare on the leader of the delinquents. He and his last conscious henchman, the purple-haired boy putted their fists up, ready for Issei's next move.

"I gave you boys a chance to walk away," Issei said in a calm voice. "But, being the most arrogant delinquents I've seen yet, you didn't take it."

The leader growled at Issei as he began to run in front of him, while the purple-haired delinquent approached him from behind in hopes to trick him.

"Don't think you've won yet, punk!" The leader exclaimed. "You haven't seen what _We're_ capable of!"

By the time the two delinquents surrounded Issei, the leader in front of him and the purple-haired boy behind him, the former aimed his fist for Issei's face while his last-standing henchman aimed a kick for his back.

Unfortunately for them, Issei jumped in the air to dodge their attacks, and that made them ended up hurting each other, with their punch and kick hitting their faces respectively.

While the two were rubbing their faces with their hands to make the pain go away, Issei landed in between them and got on the defensive as the delinquents noticed him and started throwing punches and kicks at him.

Since the delinquents were humans, blocking and dodging their attacks was a walk in the park for Issei. But he did get some hits on him in the face, the front of his upper body, and back.

'Damn! This would end much quicker if I could use my Shunpo!'

Saji took four steps backwards as he watched Issei's battle with the leader of the delinquents and the last remaining henchman.

'Man, that fight he had with those Hollows must've really paid off for him.'

The brawling between Issei and the delinquents continued for a minute. Suddenly, Issei got his arms locked from behind by the purple-haired delinquent, rendering his arms, useless due to the boy's strength.

Issei struggled to get him to let go, but his grip on his arms was good.

'Dammit! If only I could go all the way with those bastards! But, since they're human, I technically don't have a choice.'

Issei then widened his eyes as if he's realized something.

'Wait a minute…'

Issei shifted his eyes downwards towards towards his legs. He then realized what a simple position he was in and mentally smirked to himself, knowing how he can get himself out of this without using any speed-enhanced abilities.

"Ha ha ha! Looks like we've got you now, 'Prince of Justice'!"

Issei shifted his eyes back to the leader, pretending to act angry.

The leader smirked as he cracked his knuckles while approaching the brown-haired Devil.

"I will admit this though, you're pretty damn strong," the leader complimented. His smirk grew larger as he readied his fists. "But not strong enough to get yourself out of this!"

The leader cocked his right fist back, aiming it for Issei's face.

Issei smirked devilishly as the leader began to make his move.

'Now!'

To the purple-haired delinquent's surprise, Issei used the necessary strength from his previous battles to push his legs off of the ground and let his body in the air in a horizontal position.

"Wh-Wh-… What?!"

Before the leader could react any further, Issei planted his feet on the leader's face to deliver a devastating kick (Cue Power Punch sound effect from Dragon Ball), and sent him crashing towards a tree, surprisingly next to the tree the black-haired glasses-wearing delinquent crashed into. The leader was then rendered unconscious afterwards.

"Oh Shit! Boss!"

Issei then landed his feet back onto the ground. As soon as he did that, he bent his head forward and quickly rose it back up in a reverse headbutt, landing a hit on the purple-haired delinquents face.

After he got hit, he fell backwards on the ground unconscious with swirly eyes.

Issei swirled his arms around after he got himself free from the delinquent's grasp.

'At least the strength I gained from my previous battles were enough to knock them all out cold.'

After wiping the small trickle of blood from his lips, Issei sets his sights on Saji, who was staring at the former with an amazed expression.

"Make sure Kaichou gets word of this," Issei instructed. "I don't want them causing anymore trouble."

Saji widened his eyes as he took a step back.

Issei didn't say anything else. He gave a slight wave in goodbye and turned around to get to his next destination: the Occult Research Club room in the old school building.

"Wh-Wh… Why did you save me?"

Issei stopped his pace when he heard his fellow Pawn choke out his question. Saji didn't know what else to say. All he could do was just ask him.

When Issei turned his head around to face him, Saji was surprised to see that the former was calm and collective.

"Even if you can be rude, you're still a fellow Pawn, and a fellow Devil."

Saji was taken back by Issei's answer. He was expecting a "Shut up." or a "Because I felt like it." from him, but he didn't say either of them. Instead, he was given a calm, and 100% honest answer from him. Saji could tell that he wasn't lying due to how sincere his voice sounded.

Issei then sent him a small smile.

"No matter how much we squabble, no matter how much we argue, I still hope we can put aside our differences and become friends."

Saji widened his eyes once more at his words. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was actually touched by Issei's kindness, despite what has happened between them during the times they've met.

"Get strong, Genshiro," Issei tells him as he faces forward to continue his walk towards the old school building. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling there will be a time where we'll have to fight alongside each other. So be ready."

Saji didn't know what else to say, but he did mentally agree that he had to get stronger. He wasn't even able to keep up his confidence when he first encountered the delinquents before Issei showed up, so he had to step it up, and one day, surpass his fellow Pawn.

Making a face of remembrance, Saji looked up towards Issei and decided to call out to him one more time.

"Oi! Hyoudou!"

Issei stopped and turned his head around towards him again.

"Hmm?"

Saji held his hands together in front of him as he looked down towards the ground apologetically.

"Th-Thanks for helping me out there… And… Sorry about the other times…"

Issei lets out another smile and waves a hand at him.

"Don't worry about it. I have a temper myself sometimes."

Issei then turned back around and waved his hand again while walking forward.

"See you later."

Saji waved back at him while chuckling a little. He then released a sigh of relief and allows his lips to curl upwards.

"Damn. What a great guy."

Saji then made another face of realization and looked around at the four knocked out delinquents. He lets out a nervous chuckle while scratching the back of his head.

"So… How am I going to take care of this?"

* * *

"I see. So that's what kept you?"

"Yeah. Sorry, Buchou. I just had to help out."

When Issei finally made it to the ORC room, Rias asked him what took him long to get there. After Issei explained the previous events, she sighed and lets a small smile form on her lips.

"To be expected of you, Ise."

"Ara ara, sounds like the Bad Boy striked again~,"

Issei's cheeks flushed a little when he heard Akeno give him that nickname.

"I had a good reason for doing what I did, Akeno-senpai," Issei retorted with a pout. "It doesn't necessarily make me a 'Bad Boy'."

Akeno giggled at Issei's flustered pout in response.

"Um, Issei-san?"

Issei's attention was now on Asia as he heard her call to him.

"Yes?"

"While I know you're doing all of this for a good cause," Asia began while pointing her two finger together. "Is it really necessary to use violence to do so?"

"I used violence to solve my problem."

The ORC Devils turned their heads towards Koneko, who was snacking on some Sweet Tarts, when they heard her speak.

Rias let's out a frustrated sigh.

"That's right. I almost forgot what happened between you and the Perverted Duo."

After sharing a sigh with his master, Issei turns his head back to Asia.

"Look, sometimes we all don't have a choice but to beat some sense into those who do bad things. And what happened a few minutes ago was one of those times."

Asia looked conflicted at Issei's explanation. She then sighed in defeat, not knowing how to respond to his reasons.

"Well, okay."

"Honestly, Ise,"

Issei turned his head towards Rias when she started talking to him.

"Are you a shy, sweet boy, or are you a tough guy who roughs up bullies?"

Issei's eyebrow twitched at the teasing tone she used and sent her an annoyed glare.

"I prefer to be called a unique person, if you don't mind."

Without anyone's knowledge, Issei's skull was x-rayed to reveal a Chibi version of himself pouting at the Devils.

" _I mean come on! I'm a gentleman in my own right! Give me a break, will ya!"_

Issei sweat dropped and palmed his face when Rias, Akeno, and Kiba laughed at his response (Not Chibi Issei's, but the real one's).

* * *

After everyone has finished their club activities, Rias dismissed all of her servants and was now by herself, sitting in her desk. She was currently thinking about her current situation that he never told to her new servants. She was stressed. She wanted to find an escape out of it. But how?

Rias then widened her eyes a little as she remembered something.

The strength of her Pawn that she had witnessed during his fight with the Fallen Angel, Rika, and the Hollows. Especially with how he was able to kill a Menos Grande Gillian class all by himself without her or his other friends' help.

Having made up her mind, she stood up from her seat and narrowed her eyes toward her desk.

"I guess that's my only option."

* * *

Issei and Asia were currently walking towards their home while holding a conversation with each other.

"Have you been glancing at her distressed expressions?" Issei asked Asia with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I did," replied Asia, having the same look of worry as Issei did.

"And when I asked her if she was alright, she simply told me that she was fine." He narrows his eyes. "But if you want my opinion, I don't buy it. I feel like there's more to her behavior than meets the eye."

Issei then shifted his eyes toward the ground as he continued his walk.

'And again, Ddraig may be right about what he told back in my Dream World.'

Issei felt a tug on the left side of his shirt and turned to see Asia, who was now smiling at him.

"But hey, that doesn't mean we should give up," Asia said happily. "I'm sure there's a way to make her feel better, right?"

Issei lets out another sigh in frustration and looks up in the afternoon sky.

"That, I don't know."

He then looked back forward as the two were now getting near their house.

"All we can do is hope."

As the two made it to the front door of the house, Issei told her to go on in without him because he needed a moment to himself outside. Asia complied with a nod and went on in.

After she shut the door behind him, Issei went towards a nearby shade in the woods and stood there. He was then thinking to himself aloud.

"Yoruichi's probably back home from delivering those fliers."

Putting that note aside, he sets his gaze back into the sky as he thinks about his concerns for Rias.

"Buchou, just what the Hell's going on? I understand if it's personal, but still, It's getting out of hand."

Issei sighs as he sticks his hands into his pockets.

"Whatever it is, just know that we'll help you out, no matter what it takes."

"Ara ara, is something troubling you, my favorite kouhai?"

Issei's eyes widened and his cheeks turned dark red when a pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck and felt something soft press against his back. Issei didn't need to know who it was, as her voice gave it away.

"A-A-A… Akeno-senpai!" He exclaimed with flushed cheeks as his eyes met hers. "Wh-Wh-Why are you here?!"

Akeno giggled cutely at his bashful stuttering while staring into his eyes with a sultry gaze and smile.

"Ufufufu~. I couldn't help but notice that you were down in the dumps, so I decided to come see you and cheer you up~."

Akeno started to gently stroke Issei's cheek with her left hand, while stroking his chest with her right, causing the latter's cheeks to turn a darker shade of red.

"Now then, Ise-kun," she continued. "Tell your senpai what's wrong, and I'll do everything in my power to make it all better~."

"W-Well, I…"

Issei realized something in his mind. Akeno was Rias' Queen; her right-hand man.

'Maybe if I ask her what's going on with Buchou, then maybe I can get a bright idea. Sorry Ddraig, while I understand why you'd think it has something to do with marriage, we can't be too certain on it just yet.'

 _ **{I understand, partner. Ask your question to Akeno and enjoy her cuddling while you do so.}**_

Issei's eyes widened in both surprise and embarrassment. The surprised part was when Ddraig responded to him, while the embarrassed part was when he mentioned that his raven-haired senpai was cuddling him like a teddy bear.

'Ddraig?! When have you woken up, knowing that you sleep during "boring" parts of my life?!'

 _ **{I simply got interested when that girl started hugging you from behind.}**_

Issei sweat dropped at his reason. Before he could say anything else to the dragon, the dark red in Issei's face returned as she felt Akeno's embrace tighten and her breasts press harder against his back.

"Come on, Ise-kun," Akeno said to him with her cute stare and smile. "You can tell me anything."

Issei couldn't help but soften his eyes at her gaze.

'Damn… She's so adorable when she looks at me like that… No, Issei! Focus!'

Issei shook his head from his thoughts and sets his eyes towards Akeno.

"Well, Buchou has been acting like something bad has happened, or will be happening to her soon," Issei explained it shyly due to Akeno still stroking his cheek and chest, and that she had a cute face while looking at him with her sultry smile, which was keeping his cheeks dark red. "And every time I ask her if she's alright, she always says that she's fine or was lost in thought. I don't know why, but I don't buy it."

Issei blinked in surprise when he saw Akeno frown.

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about," she replied. "While I can't say much, I can say this: she's going through something that will affect all of us."

Issei widened his eyes at this.

"Affect us how?"

"I can't say. All I know is that it won't be pretty."

Issei blinked twice at her statement. He then shifted his eyes towards the ground with a sad look.

'I didn't think it would be this bad.'

He then looked back up to Akeno.

"Is there a way we can help her?"

Akeno looked up towards the sky while still keeping her hold on Issei.

"Hard to say."

Issei now has a face of defeat.

'Damn. I was hoping it would be more simple.'

"But that doesn't mean you should be all depressed."

Issei's blush returned as Akeno tightened her hug and pressed her breasts against him harder.

"A-A-A-Akeno-senpai!"

"Shhhhh. Don't be frightened, my favorite kouhai~," Akeno said cutely as she stroked Issei's head in gentle pets while resting her head on his right shoulder. "You just relax in my embrace, and I'll make all of your worries go away~."

Issei's face was turning redder and redder as Akeno continued to cuddle him. He then started letting out soft, but quiet moans as he could feel her breasts push against his back repeatedly by every second.

"Ufufufufu~. Your moans are so adorable~. It makes me like that side of you more than your Bad Boy side~."

Issei lets out a yelp at the perverted tone she had in her voice. His legs then started to twitch as he felt something in between them make his pants feel tight.

" _Oh crap! We're gettin' a stiffy! We're gettin' a stiffy!"_ The Chibi Issei exclaimed in panic while running around the real one's x-rayed cranium.

As if on queue with the Chibi's panicking, Akeno shifted her eyes towards Issei's crotch and widened her smile while giggling when she saw the bulge in his pants.

"Naughty boy~. You got turned on by little old me?"

"I, uh, uh, well you, you-"

Issei was stuttering like mad as he was now embarrassed by her discovery. Before he could try to speak a clear sentence, he lets out another yelp as Akeno presses her boobs on his back harder.

"Or maybe it's because of _these_ ~?"

Akeno wrapped her arms around Issei's neck and started to rub her breasts up and down hard against his back. As she was doing that, she began nuzzling her left cheek on Issei's right cheek while releasing cute giggles from her mouth.

Issei's entire face was nearing the color of Rias' hair. The sensation of Akeno's boobs rubbing his back, the nuzzling of their cheeks, and the hot breath she was releasing in small breaths at every downward thrust of her bosom was making him feel hot inside. He wasn't sure if he should enjoy this, or not, but he did admit in his mind that her cuddling felt good.

'N-N-No! I won't have the mindset of those damn perverts! But… For some reason, I'm enjoying this… But why? Why am I feeling this way?'

Issei suddenly lets out a gasp in surprise when Akeno started licking his cheek. He tried his very best to suppress his moans due to the wet feeling on his cheek every time her tongue moves up and down against it.

'H-H-Holy crap!' Issei exclaimed in his mind. 'I had no idea Akeno-senpai could be _this_ assertive!' He widens his eyes as he felt something bump into his right leg. 'EEP! Wha-Wha-Wha-What the Hell is she up to now?!'

Before he can think of an answer, he began to feel Akeno's legs go in between his right leg while she rubbed her breasts on his back and licked his cheek. He then started feeling hotter than before when he felt something grind on his leg. After a few seconds pass, Issei's eyes almost popped out of his sockets and steam started shooting out of his ears after he figured out what Akeno was doing to him.

" _She's humping us! She's humping us, ladies and gentlemen!"_

The hopping (Daffy Duck style) Chibi Issei was correct when he exclaimed what she was doing while having both of his hands on his red cheeks. While letting out small, cute, quiet moans of pleasure, Akeno was now slowly and gently humping Issei's leg while looking at the flushed boy with a sultry gaze and some red cheeks of her own.

She lets another smile form on her lips when she saw Issei's reaction.

"Ufufufu~. Does it feel good, Ise-kun~?" Akeno asked him with a cute tone in her voice. "You can tell me. I won't judge you."

"W-W-Well… I will admit, senpai, it does feel kinda nice, and… Mmph!"

Issei sealed his lips as tight as he could.

'Did I seriously say that out loud?! What the Hell is wrong with me today?!'

Akeno giggled at his response as she blushes a dark shade of red.

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying it~. It's the least I could do to ease your mind."

Issei started stuttering shyly, trying to come up with something to respond with, but he was unable to do so due to how embarrassed and ashamed he was with himself, and that the feeling he got from Akeno continuing to grind her crotch on his leg was making him feel really hot.

"It's okay," Akeno said, knowing how he's feeling right now. "Everyone can be perverted in their own way. It's only a natural reaction to enjoy something like this~."

Issei widened his eyes in surprise while letting out another gasp as Akeno presses her lips onto his cheek, planting a kiss on it. After removing her lips from the cheek, she started to slowly move her hands down his body.

She started from his cheeks to his shoulders, giving them a quick gentle massage before her hands continued downward to his chest.

" _Danger! Danger! She's reaching for the naughty bits!"_ The Chibi Issei was in full panic, fearing for the real Issei's consciousness. _"Come on, real me! Keep it together!"_

Confirming the Chibi Issei's alarm, after Akeno stroked the real one's chest gently with both of her hands, they started slithering their way towards the bulge spot in his pants at a really slow pace. By the time her hands were three inches from the bulge, she extended her index and middle fingers from each hand and went to their target.

"Stop!"

Issei quickly grabbed onto her hands with his own. He was too flustered to notice that his grip on her hands were pretty tight, causing Akeno's cheeks to tinge light red.

"Th-Th-That's enough, Akeno-senpai," Issei said with his cheeks the shade of Rias' hair. "P-Please, let's stop here before someone walks in on us and gets the wrong idea!"

Akeno lets out a cute giggle at his stuttering as she lets go of him from her hug.

"Your shyness is as cute as always, Ise-kun~."

Akeno walked around the embarrassed red-faced Issei to get in front of him. She then walked closer until she was about two to three inches from his face and sent him a sultry smile.

"Alright. That will do for now," She says to Issei, making him sigh a breath of relief.

" _WHOOHOOHOOWHOO! WHOOWHOO! Pass out averted!"_ The Chibi Issei shouted in victory after bouncing around the real one's x-rayed cranium like Daffy Duck would.

"But remember, my favorite kouhai," Akeno continued, making both Isseis jump out of their brief relief and set their nervous eyes on the black-haired beauty. "Whenever you're feeling down in the dumps, or if you're in need of stimulation," Akeno takes one step closer to Issei. "I'll be there to help however I can~."

GROPE!

"GUUUAAAAAAHHHH!"

Issei jumped three feet in the air, letting out a Josh Grelle scream while holding onto his butt after Akeno gave it a tight squeeze.

Akeno tittered with a hand over her mouth at the sight.

"Ara ara, he's got a cute and tight butt," Akeno said in a whisper so Issei couldn't hear her.

As soon as Issei landed from his jump, he looked at Akeno with a surprised look in his eyes and dark red cheeks while rubbing where she squeezed.

"Ufufu~. Sorry about that. I couldn't control myself. I was so curious what you'd look like when you're in that kind of pain~."

Issei lets out a whine in frustration.

"You ain't called a sadist for nothing."

Akeno lets another smile form on her lips as her eyes close.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm also a masochist. I have both sides flowing in me~."

"YOU'RE A SADIST _AND_ A MASOCHIST?!" Issei asked dumbfounded with white eyes and shark-like teeth.

"That's right~," Akeno confirms as she opens her violet eyes and has them make contact with his while licking her lips and pushing her boobs together with her arms. "So, if you'd like to do anything to me in the future, you can be as rough with me as you want, and make it as painful as you want~."

Akeno said the last part with lust in her eyes and a dark blush on her cheeks, which were enough to startle Issei a little.

'Wow… Just… Wow…'

Akeno giggles at Issei's reaction as she began to walk away from him.

"Bye, Ise-kun. We should do this again sometime."

Issei blushes once more when Akeno gave him a wink before turning forward to her destination, swaying her hips suggestively while walking.

"Y-Yeah. See ya," Issei replies with a slight wave. After he saw Akeno walk further enough, he lets out another sigh of relief, happy that his sanity and consciousness were still in one piece.

Issei then began walking his way back home. After taking a few steps, he couldn't help but feel something slightly wet on his right leg. He stopped his pacing and looked down towards his right pant leg to inspect it. Upon further investigation, he blinked in surprise to see that there was a small wet spot on the back of the pant leg.

"What the? How did that get there?"

Issei was puzzling about how this wet spot appeared on his pant leg. His first assumption was that he may have sweated a little during his fight with the delinquents, but immediately scrapped that as he would've felt it earlier. He continued to try and figure it out for ten more seconds before deciding to give up.

"*Sigh*. Forget it. I'll just put my uniform in the wash when I get home. My parents and Asia are probably wondering what's taking me so long."

With that said, Issei continued his walk back home and be ready for another day.

* * *

As soon as Issei made it home, his parents and Asia welcomed him home with dinner already ready at the table. Issei thanked his mother, Yuki, since she did the cooking, and joined them at the table to feast on the food.

When Asia asked him why he was away for a long time, Issei told him that he was distracted by the beauty of the afternoon sky. As much as he hated to lie to her, he just had to leave out the part where Akeno cuddled him in a rather… naughty way. He really didn't want Asia to be as perverted as their black-haired senpai since she used to be a nun back then, and with his parents around at the table, he knew full well that his father, Ryuujin, would tease him about being in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with Akeno, and his mother might talk about grandchildren.

After finishing dinner, he took care of the dishes and made his way upstairs to his room to change his clothes and put his school uniform in the wash. Before doing so, he turned his head slightly to the left to look at his cat Familiar, Yoruichi, sitting in between his parents. They nodded at each other, as if knowing exactly what they wanted to say to each other.

After changing into a blue shirt and black short pants, and putting his school uniform in the wash, Issei was now laying on his bed, thinking about what happened between him and Akeno.

"Yeah, it's safe to say she _really_ likes me."

Issei twitches his legs a little, still feeling the squeeze Akeno gave to his rear end.

"Why else would she go this far during her cuddling? I know she teases me with her winking and flirting, but _what_ she did back there _definitely_ confirms her affections towards me."

Issei lets out a sigh before he continued thinking aloud.

"Don't get me wrong, she's cute, and she's a really kind girl. And…"

Issei didn't notice his cheeks were starting to turn a little red while beginning to say his next sentence.

"She was gentle with me…"

Issei shot his head from his pillow and rapidly shook his head. He then clutched onto it in annoyance.

"Dammit! What the Hell am I thinking right now?! Did it really feel _that_ good what she did?!"

Calming down from his small outburst, he got into a sitting position on the side of his bed and folded his arms on his lap.

"Besides, I think Tsubasa-san likes me too. According to Kusaka-san, she talked nonstop about me during my previous battles with Rika, back when I was human, and after I became a Devil."

The red in his cheeks returns as he was still puzzled about how she knew about those battles. He then rubs the temples of his head with his fingers.

"Uuuugh! I should stop thinking about this right now!"

Breathing another sigh, Issei got up from his bed and made his way towards the bathroom, but not before picking up some fresh towels with him.

"I think a bath is what I need to clear my mind from all of this."

As soon as Issei made it to the bathroom door, he made sure to give it three knocks before entering, just in case someone was in there.

"Yes?"

Issei widened his eyes a little when he recognized the voice he heard from behind the door. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he proceeded to say what any sane person would say, but with a little shyness to it.

"Oh, I just wanted to check if anyone was there before I got in to use the shower."

Issei heard Asia gasp from behind the door.

"I-I-Issei-san?"

Issei's cheeks tinged pink at how she called his name, but that didn't stop him from replying as calm as he could.

"Y-Yeah, it's me. Don't worry, I'll wait for you to finish before I have my turn."

Issei then immediately turned around from the bathroom door and started making his way back to his room. As soon as he made two steps away from the door, he jumped a little when he heard the door suddenly slide open from behind him.

"No, wait!"

Issei gasped with widened eyes and dropped his towels when he was suddenly latched onto from behind by a naked, damp, Asia. Issei blushed two shades of red when he felt his shirt getting wet, and Asia's bust pressed against his back when she was hugging him from behind.

"A-A-Asia, what are you doing?!" He asked with nervousness heard in his voice.

"I… I'm sorry," Asia apologized, noticing how nervous he looked when she looked at him with her soft, green eyes, and the same shade of red in her cheeks as Issei's were. "It's just that… I've been thinking about something while I was in here… And I thought you might want to hear it."

Swallowing a lump, Issei turns his head right to face Asia and looks at her in the eyes. Asia blushed another shade of red, as she had become very fond to his soft, gentle brown eyes ever since they hanged out together back then.

"Wh… What is it?" Issei asked, afraid of where this is going to go.

"Well… I was thinking…" Asia's cheeks were now a shade of a tomato as she continued from there. "Will you… Bathe with me?"

"WHAT?!" Issei exclaimed in shock and surprise, but quietly enough so his parents and Yoruichi didn't hear.

" _Oh boy, Here we go again!"_ The chibi Issei said with his face buried in his hands.

"Well, you see…" Asia began to explain shyly. "They say taking a bath together can bring people a lot closer. So I thought that maybe we could do that together."

Issei's jaw dropped at her explanation. He could not believe what he was hearing right now.

With curiosity in overdrive, Issei asked Asia: "Wh-Wh-Where or who told you that this was the case?!"

Asia looked down in what appeared to be embarrassment as she answered his question

"K-Kiryuu-san told me so. She said that by interacting during a bath, you're supposed to… understand each other."

Issei widened his eyes again.

' _She_ told her this?! My second Devil pact, Aika-san told her about bathing with the opposite sex?! WHY?! Did she think we were dating?!'

Asia noticed the distressed look on Issei's face after she told him what Aika said to her.

"I apologize for making you uncomfortable," Asia said shyly. "I just want… to understand you on a deeper level!"

Issei flinched when he felt Asia's hug tighten around his chest.

Asia continued from there while having tears threaten to leave her eyes.

"Ever since you told me that I was your friend no matter what, and back when you went so far in your fight against Rika just to save my life, I felt… Happy. I felt happy simply being around you! Of all of the people that have made me happy after my new life as a Devil began, you were the greatest source of that happiness! You are the number one reason I'm still here today, and I can never be more grateful to you than I am right now!"

Issei's eyes widened and softened at the same time.

"That's why…" Asia continued, looking back into his doe-brown eyes. "That's why I want to bathe with you. I want to make a deeper connection in our relationship as friends."

Issei face turned bright red at her declaration as he was feeling conflicted about his current situation.

'If I refuse her, she'll be sad. But If I bathe with her, my parents will get the wrong idea about what we're doing and I might go unconscious! Damn you, shy trait!'

Issei then blinked twice with wide eyes as he came up with an idea.

'I've got it! I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's worth a shot!'

Issei takes a deep breath and picks up his towels from the floor. Asia tilted her head to the side, curious about what he was doing.

After gathering the towels in his arms, Issei turned around and looked Asia in her eyes, rendering another blush from her.

"Listen, Asia," he began, getting her full attention. "It takes a lot of mental preparation and stability to be in a bath with the opposite sex, whether you know that man or not."

"Huh?" Asia tilts her head again with a question mark popping out of her head.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is, I'm not ready to do something like that. I mean look at me," Issei points at his blushing face. "I'm not ready to be in a room naked with a woman. I'm not mentally prepared to handle it."

"Asia-chan, I got you some fresh towels for you."

Issei froze in place when he heard the sound of Yuki coming upstairs. Before either Issei or Asia could do or say anything, she arrived at the bathroom door with three towels stacked up in her hands and widened her eyes a little to see a naked Asia, and her clothed son with his own set of towels with him.

Noticing his mother's presence, he jumped with a yelp and tried to explain what was going on.

"H-Hold on, mother! It's not what you-"

"Oh! You've already got some ready for Asia-chan~! Issei, you gentleman you~!"

"Eh?"

Issei gave his mom a blank stare before connecting two and two together.

"Oh! Uh, yeah! I've got it all taken care of! Ha ha ha ha!"

Issei went to Asia while laughing nervously and gently handed her his towels. He then gave Asia a wave with closed eyes and a smile as he sped-walked back to his room.

"You go ahead and enjoy the bath!"

"Wait, Issei-san!"

Before she could say anything else to him, he entered his room and closed the door behind him, causing Asia to sigh in defeat.

'Aww, I was really hoping we could bathe together.'

"Did you try talking my baby boy into taking a bath with you, dear?"

Asia jumped when she heard Yuki ask her that and began stuttering with a dark blush.

"I, well, you see, I…" She sighs in defeat. "Yeah… I did."

Yuki giggled in response and kneels on one knee to pat her on the head, making Asia tilt her head to the side at her action.

"Don't rush him, Asia. Issei gets really nervous and bashful when he sees a woman naked. So he's not ready to bathe with you or any girlfriend he gets in the future."

Asia blinked three times at her explanation, making Yuki giggle again and turn her head to face Issei's bedroom door.

"Just give him time. He'll be used to it soon."

* * *

"Good Lord!"

Issei was clutching his head in frustration with light-red cheeks as he paced himself around his room.

"First, Akeno-senpai, then Tsubasa-san… I think… and now, Asia?!"

Issei falls backwards onto his bed and lets out a big sigh.

"I don't understand how I'm able to attract them. Sure, I am a nice guy, and I'm willing to do what I can to protect my friends and close ones, but I didn't expect those girls to like me. Especially Asia. Back when she walked in and out of school, and the club room, she would sometimes cling onto my arm from time to time. I knew she liked me as a friend, but I didn't think she'd like me _that_ much."

Issei folds his arms behind his head and stares up towards his ceiling.

"It's not that I don't want a girlfriend or anything like that, it's just that with multiple girls having feelings for me, It's gonna be hard for me to choose which one to be with without making the others sad. Also… There is _her_ …"

Issei's cheeks turned light-red when he began thinking about the one girl that was currently on his mind.

SHINE!

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of teleportation in his room. When he turned his head right to find the source, he discovered that it was a red teleportation circle, and there was a bright aura taking on the form of a person coming from it.

After a few seconds pass, it was revealed to be Rias who arrived in his room, and she had a desperate look on her face.

"B-Buchou?" Issei had surprise in the tone in his voice, as he was not expecting her to show up here. "What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?"

Rias didn't answer him. She reached for Issei's light switch and flicked it town, turning off his lights. Issei became even more surprised when he then saw Rias lock his door behind her.

"H-H-Hey, Buchou?" Issei was starting to get a little nervous when Rias slowly walked towards him with a bright blush on her cheeks after removing her blazer and footwear, making him land his butt back onto his bed.

"Ise…"

Issei widened his eyes at the tone Rias used in her voice. She sounded worried, afraid of what would happen to her if she doesn't do what she came here to do.

"Please, make love to me!"

Issei yelped at her sudden request.

"Wait, wha-"

Rias pushed him on the bed with her on top of him. Issei widens his eyes further when she stared at him with sad looking eyes while she was unbuttoning her shirt. After getting all of the buttons loose, she removed her shirt and threw it to the side, revealing her breasts covered by a white bra.

"Please! I need you to take my virginity, and I need you to do it _now_!"

Issei was flabbergasted at the words that came out of her mouth.

'What the Hell?! What's gotten into her?! Why does she suddenly want to have sex with me?!'

Issei then closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths.

'Keep it together, Issei! Judging by the look on her face, this may be your chance to figure out what's going on.'

"I've given this a lot of thought," Rias said to Issei with a dark blush after removing her skirt and tossing it aside. "And there's just no other way."

"What?! What do you mean no other way?! What are you even- Aaah!"

Issei was cut off and lets out a gasp when Rias started licking his neck while pulling his shirt up, revealing his well-built chest that she started massaging with her left hand gently.

After doing this for five seconds, Rias lifts her head up from his neck and planted three kisses on it. She proceeded to give Issei three more kisses. One on each cheek, and on his forehead. She lifts her body up and reaches her hands behind her back to undo her bra.

"Once it becomes known that I'm ruined, I'll finally be free from that _man_."

Issei widens his eyes again at her next sentence.

'That _man?_ Who is this _man_ she speaks of?'

"You're the most strongest servant I've ever been blessed with, so I'm trusting you on this."

Issei was only half-listening to her. He was still trying to figure what she meant by 'That _man._ '

Issei makes a look of realization as he puts two and two together.

'That's it… Ddraig… You were-'

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Rias' crotch grind against his own as she got into a comfortable position on him, followed by her bra falling off her chest after she finally got it off, revealing her pink nipples to the dark-red faced Issei.

" _Ooooh Lordy Loo! Boobies inbound!"_ The Chibi Issei shouted in fear from the real one's x-rayed cranium.

"You are a virgin right?" Rias asks as she grabs his right hand into her left one. "Neither of us may have much sexual experience, but I think we can manage that."

Issei muffled a scream when Rias placed his hand on her left breast. The soft sensation of her fleshy mound was really getting Issei hot.

"Let's get started," Rias says quietly. "Please be gentle with me."

At that moment, something sparked in Issei. His expression went from shock and shy to stern and serious as his eyes are now narrowed and eyebrows furrowed in synchronized pace.

'No! Sex isn't what Buchou needs right now!'

Rias noticed that Issei was taking long to have his way with her and frowned in frustration.

"Are you denying me, Ise?!"

Hearing her ask those questions made Issei narrow his eyes and furrow his eyebrows further with gritted teeth.

"That's it!"

After shouting this at Rias, who received a stunned look on her face by the tone he used in his voice, Issei got his right hand loose from Rias' forced grip on her breast and grabbed onto her shoulders with both hands.

Rias was then caught off guard when Issei pushed her down on his bed with force, now making Issei being on top with Rias lying on the bed on her back with a shocked expression and red cheeks.

Issei too was blushing since her bare breasts were still showing, but that wasn't going to stop him from snapping her out of whatever was going on.

"I… Ise..?"

"Dammit Buchou! What the Hell's going on with you?! Why do you insist on having sex with me?!"

Rias was taken back by how angry Issei was sounding right now.

"I… I…"

"This isn't like you, Buchou! This isn't like you at all!" he continued. "Every day, every afternoon, you always look like that something's been bothering you! What is it Buchou?! What are you hiding from us?!"

Rias shifted her eyes from him while blushing another shade of red. Before she could speak after looking back at him, Issei cuts her off.

"Please, Buchou. Don't give me that 'I'm okay' bullshit," This time, he was more calm, but was still maintaining his stern expression and voice. "You're worrying me. You're worrying Asia."

Rias widened her eyes at his next sentence with tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"Whatever's bothering you, let me help. Let _us_ help you. No matter what the problem is, forcing me to have sex with you isn't going to solve anything. Please, tell me what's troubling you, and I, along with Asia, Koneko-chan, Kiba, and Akeno-senpai will do whatever we can to help."

Issei blinked in surprise when he started noticing fresh tears finally travel down her cheeks, followed by slight quiet sobbing sounds coming from her mouth.

"I… I'm sorry!"

Unable to hold it any longer, Rias got up into a sitting position on her knees and wrapped her arms around Issei's back in a hug.

Issei widens his eyes a little when Rias began to sob into his chest, holding onto his shirt tightly. He blushed a little since she was still wearing nothing but her white panties, but he knew this wasn't a time to be bashful. He wraps his arms around her and starts petting her head gently.

'Damn.'Issei thought with a frown. 'I've heard of people who despise being in an arranged marriage, but I didn't think it would take _this_ much of a toll on her.'

Issei waited for Rias to calm down, which took her two minutes to do, before asking the question to either confirm Ddraig's prediction or not.

"When you said 'that _man'_ , were you talking about someone you're forced to marry?"

Rias lifted her head from his chest and sniffed two times as she looks at him with her blue-green eyes.

"Yes…"

 _ **{Hmm. What do you know.}**_

Issei widened his eyes a little when he heard Ddraig speak in his head, but ignored it to focus on Rias. He then used his thumb to wipe away the tears that were in her eyes, prompting the latter to blush.

"I see," he responded calmly, now understanding why she attempted something like this.

"I'm really sorry, Ise," Rias said with an apologetic voice. "I was so desperate. He only likes me for my body and name and not for simply who I am. That's why I made the decision to have you fuck me."

Issei blushed a dark shade of red at her choice of words on her last sentence, but forced it down so he could focus on the conversation. He did get mad when he discovered that this man was someone who only wants a woman for her body, and he believed that he should be put in his place, even if he is a High-class Devil.

Taking a breath to calm down from his mild anger and looked to Rias, giving her a small smile.

"If it makes you feel any better, I like you for who you are. I like you as a close friend."

"What?!"

Rias became awestruck at what he told him, making her blush again with widened eyes.

"I mean come on, You've brought me back before I could die, You've helped Asia when she needed it, and you got us Familiars. I just hope one day I can pay you back."

Rias' eyes softened at Issei. She was touched that he only liked him because of the good she's done for him and Asia. Why couldn't she find other men, other than Kiba, and now Issei who likes her because of who she is? Other than being a Gremory, and because of her body.

'Ise…'

Her blush turns darker at every second her eyes were on the smiling Issei. She now knew that if she could count on anyone to make her feel better, not only would it be Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, and Asia, but it would be him. It would be him the most.

"Now answer me this."

Rias snapped out of her thoughts when he heard Issei speak to her. Her eyes widen a little when he saw his serious expression return, but it wasn't too harsh.

"Please be honest, when you reincarnated me into your Pawn, was it so you could use me against him?"

Rias widened her eyes at his question, not expecting him to ask something like that. She stared down towards the bed with her hands held together while fidgeting her toes. Flicking and clicking sounds can be heard from them.

"Well, at first, it was the reason, but later, I've decided to reincarnate you after how you've been treated by that Fallen Angel, Rika. You only wanted to spare her after you've successfully taken her down, only to be stabbed in the back. Literally."

Rias sets her stare on Issei, being as honest as anyone could ever be.

"I know. I know what you're thinking right now, and I still feel guilty for that originally being the reason to recruit you. But that's not it anymore. I brought you back because you deserved better. You didn't want to shed any blood, even if it was something you didn't understand back then. You have the honor of a warrior, and I couldn't bare having you pass away because of her."

Issei took his time to process her answer. At first, he was surprised that she wanted him just to be rid of this man she's forced to marry, and a little mad that he was treated as a potential weapon when she first heard of him.

Issei lets out a deep sigh with closed eyes. He then opens them and looks at Rias straight in the eye.

"Well, that's what I expected to hear from you."

Rias gasped at Issei's response. She expected him to feel a little betrayed, or any kind of anger that relates to this. But instead, she got what he said as the response.

"Y-Y-… You're not mad at me?"

Issei sighed again and lets his lips curl upwards.

"Even if I was mad, what other choice would there have been? There was no way in Hell that I would be able to survive that attack." He then closes his eyes as his smile widens. "Besides, you never showed any signs of lying."

Rias blinked twice with wide eyes. She didn't understand why he was so quick to forgive her despite telling him everything.

Seeing the confusion written all over her face, Issei continued from there.

"When I was about ten to eleven years old, I was able to tell if people were lying or not, no matter how honest they looked and sounded. And to prove that you _were_ honest with me, I caught a bully back in middle school who was looking and sounding honest, but through it all, he was nothing more than a lying bastard."

Issei then looks up towards his ceiling while holding a hand to his chin.

"I had no idea how I was able to do that though. He then shrugged his shoulders. "But since I was a kid back then, I just simply accepted that gift and rolled with it."

Rias became amazed at his story. She didn't think he would have such an ability to tell if they lied or not through their disguised honest expressions and voices. At the same time, she was still in surprise that he would still be so forgiving to her.

"Hey," Issei said, noticing tears starting to leave her eyes again, prompting him to wipe them away. "Let's leave it at that, okay? We'll find a way to break off the marriage."

Rias was taken back by his words. She was surprised that he would act this confident in helping her with her problem, despite what he eventually found out. The amount of kindness he was giving her was making her heart feel warm. She felt like she was in a safe place thanks to him, and her servants who are willing to help her no matter what.

"Ise, I-"

SHINE!

Rias was cut off when she and Issei saw a white teleportation circle out of the corner of their eyes and turned their heads in its direction. It was slowly revealing a bright white silhouette of a woman standing in a formal manner.

Rias sighed and backed away from Issei, recognizing who this silhouette is.

"I had a feeling she'd show up."

Issei tilted his head.

'Does she know this Devil?'

As curious as he is about this mysterious Devil that's appearing, he kept a neutral expression as he was quietly observing the silhouette.

'Whoever she is, her Reiatsu is off the charts. I better be careful not to piss her off in anyway possible.'

There was one more mildly bright flash before the woman was finally revealed to Issei and Rias. She was a beautiful woman with red lipstick, silver eyes, and matching hair that flows all the way down her back with a long braid on each side with small blue bows at the ends. The rest of her hair is let down, ending in twin braids.

Issei noted that she was wearing a blue and white french-maid's outfit, white headband included. He found it odd that she was wearing that, but decided to keep quiet as the woman was currently glaring at Rias with a stern, disappointed scowl.

"Really, Rias?" the woman began, sounding upset with what she has witnessed. "You're willing to go _this_ far to break the agreement? You do realize Sirzechs and your parents will be terribly disappointed if they found out you've attempted to give yourself to this lowborn."

"Sirzechs?" While Issei was a little offended that the woman called him a 'lowborn', it didn't stop him from being curious on who this 'Sirzechs' person is.

"He's my older brother," Rias explained before standing up from the bed, causing her breasts to bounce a little. She then shot an angry glare right back at the maid with her hands on her hips.

'Huh. She's got an older brother?' Issei asked himself in his mind. He then deadpanned to himself with beady brown eyes. 'Of course she does. Even Devils should be able to have siblings, knowing that this _is_ Modern Devil logic we're talking about here.'

"My virtue is mine to do with as I please," Rias said to the silver-haired woman, catching Issei's attention to the conversation between the women. "How is it wrong for me to give it to whoever I want?" Rias' glare turns into a full blown scowl at the woman. "And another thing: I will _not_ allow anyone to call one of my honored servants a 'lowborn'! Even if you are my brother's Queen, and a part of the Gremory Household, I _won't_ forgive you!"

The maid wasn't phased at the anger towards her, but she did understand that she has mistaken Issei as a lowborn with a nod.

"Noted."

She then went towards Rias' clothes and picked up her blazer, shirt and bra and handed them to her so she can put them back on.

"But think," the woman continued. "You _are_ the next head of the Gremory Household. Please restrain yourself from shamelessly showing your skin to a random male, even if that male is your servant."

While Rias was getting dressed, the woman approached Issei and locked eyes with him, causing the latter to jump a little.

"Pardon the intrusion, mister. My name is Grayfia, and I'm the Queen of Sirzechs-sama and a maid in service of the Gremory family." Grayfia then bows to him. "We'll be out of your way now."

Issei did his best to keep a neutral face as he nodded to her.

"Y-Yes, of course, ma'am."

Issei then lets out a sigh and closed his eyes in thought.

'So Devils have maids too, eh? I'm starting to get a little nervous about the future somehow.'

Issei's eyes shot open when he felt his shoulder get shaken by someone. He turned left to see a fully dressed Rias smiling while looking at him.

"Sorry again, Ise. I haven't been in my right mind tonight."

Issei shook his head with a reassuring smile.

"It's alright. I understand. Let's just pretend this never happened."

Rias' smile widens at his kindness.

"Wait,"

Issei and Rias now have their attention on Grayfia, who had a surprised expression on her face.

"Lady Rias, do you mean _the_ Issei?"

Rias nods with a sigh.

"Yes, he's my Pawn. Issei Hyoudou."

Issei felt a familiar nervousness in himself when Grayfia sets her surprised gaze on him.

"The one who's baring the Boosted Gear, is possessed by the Red Dragon Emperor, defeated a Fallen Angel all by himself with his own strength, slayed a large amount of Hollows and _killed_ one in a Menos Grande Gillian class? That's _him?_ "

Issei could only politely nod to her in response as he had no idea how to properly respond to her.

'How the Hell does she know all of that?'

Rias crossed her arms under her bust and sets her eyes on Grayfia with a serious expression.

"I will listen to what you have to say at my headquarters. You won't mind if Akeno joins us?"

"The Priestess of Thunder?" Grayfia questions. "But of course I don't mind. It's only proper for a noble Devil to have his or her Queen by his or her side in times like these."

Nodding in response, Rias turns back to Issei and approaches him with softened eyes. When she got two inches near him, he brings her head towards his and presses her lips onto Issei's cheek, giving it a soft, gentle kiss.

Issei's cheeks turned light-red at the contact, but kept his cool since he didn't want to look like a fool in front of Grayfia.

Releasing her lips from his cheek, Rias sends him one more smile as she walks towards Grayfia to go back to her headquarters.

"Thank you for forgiving me Ise," she tells him with a dark-red blush. "Sweet dreams."

Rias and Grayfia have now teleported away from his home, leaving Issei alone in his room.

Issei let's out a sigh of relief.

"Glad that's out of the way."

Issei then narrows his eyes toward the ground, now knowing almost everything that's happening to his master.

"Still, I really do hope there's a way to save her. Whoever this groom is, he does _not_ seem to understand the concept of love."

* * *

Without Issei's knowledge, Yoruichi was standing near his bedroom door, having heard everything that has happened in there.

"Good thing I've cloaked my Spiritual Power from Grayfia. Otherwise, she would've noticed me."

Yoruichi then made his way back downstairs while swinging his tail around.

"Whatever happens next, you better be ready, Issei Hyoudou."

* * *

[Eye catcher beginning: Koneko in her Kuoh Academy uniform wearing cat themed fighting gloves cracking her knuckles with a neutral expression.]

[Eye catcher ending: Akeno in her Kuoh Academy uniform, licking her lips with a dark blush and softened eyes while conjuring yellow lightning in her hands.]

* * *

Another day of school has passed. Issei, Asia, Kiba, and even Issei's Familiar, Yoruichi were walking their way towards the old school building to meet up with Rias, Akeno, and Koneko.

Issei brought his two swords with him in their shinai bags. The large one on his back contained the sword Kiba made for him, and the smaller one, fit for a katana, on his left hip had the Scale Blade, Issei's new weapon given to him by a mysterious man from the Familiar Forest. Issei was told by Rias via a text message to bring his swords with him just in case, and he did just that.

'Buchou, no matter what happens, we'll be there for you all the way.'

* * *

"Evening, folks."

The three devils, with Yoruichi sitting on Issei's right shoulder, arrived at the ORC room. Within the room, they found Rias, who had her eyes closed with her hands resting on her desk, Akeno, who was standing next to her with her hands held together, Koneko, who the three Devils joined at their side, and someone that Issei didn't expect to see again.

'It's Ms. Grayfia. Why is she here?'

"Good. Everyone's here," Rias said as she stood up from her desk.

Grayfia turns her head to face Rias.

"My lady, if you don't mind, may I have permission to speak openly?"

Rias raises a hand towards her, giving the maid the cue to be silent. She then takes a deep breath faces her servants with a serious expression.

"The truth is…"

Before she could say another word, everyone turned their heads toward the source of a bright orange light that suddenly appeared in front of the entrance/exit of the club room. Upon further inspection, they saw an orange magic circle with a different symbol than Rias' clan's symbol.

The magic circle then erupted a large amount of flame from it, showing a silhouette of a man who was facing the double-doors.

Rias scowled at the figure, knowing _exactly who_ he is.

"Phenex."

Issei blinked a few times when he heard Kiba say that word.

Eventually, the flames died down, revealing a young man in his early twenties with short blonde hair. He wore a burgundy blazer with matching pants, a white dress shirt that was only one button off underneath the opened blazer, and had black dress shoes.

While Asia was surprised by the man's arrival, Issei had his sights on him with narrowed eyes.

'This guy's Reiatsu is pretty high, but not as high as that man I fought back at the Familiar Forest.'

Upon further inspection, he noted that the Reiatsu signature surrounding him, that only Issei could see with his Reiatsu reading ability, was the color of flames.

'Why am I sensing a pattern in this? I'm gonna need a larger list for color coding Reiatsu.'

Issei stopped in his thoughts when he heard the blonde man breath out a sigh.

"Ah, and Riser has arrived in the Human Realm."

Issei made a weirded out expression at the man who calls himself 'Riser'.

'He refers to himself in third person? Really?'

Riser turns around and sets his dark blue eyes on Rias while allowing a smug smile form on his face.

"I came all this way to see you," his grin widens. "My beloved Rias."

' _beloved_?' Issei raised an eyebrow at this statement. Shifting his eyes left, he noticed Rias' scowl.

'Judging by that look on Buchou's face, she doesn't seem to like him in the slightest. Hell, this Riser guy looks like he's full of himself.'

"Issei-sama,"

Issei hear Grayfia call out his name. He turns his head towards her, giving her his attention.

"This man is Lord Riser Phenex-sama. He is a pure-blooded Devil of noble birth, third heir in line to the house of Phenex. He is also fiance to the next head of the house of Gremory."

Issei widened his eyes with furrowed brows. He then looks to Rias, who's scowl has grown worse by the second, and then Riser.

'I see, so he _is_ the guy Rias told me about.'

* * *

After settling down, if you can call it that, Riser is now sitting on the sofa next to Rias with his arm wrapped around her neck, stroking a few threads of her hair roughly. Akeno has served the Phenex Devil tea while Issei, Asia, Kiba, Koneko, and Yoruichi stood and watched the scene from behind the sofa behind the tea table and the sofa the two High-class Devils were sitting.

"Lovely," Riser spoke after taking a sip from the tea cup. "The tea prepared by my Rias' Queen is most delicious."

"Thank you for the compliment, sir," Akeno replied, slightly bowing to him before regrouping with the other Gremory Devils.

'Akeno-senpai doesn't seem to like him either,' Issei noted in his thoughts when he heard the slightly agitated tone in her voice. 'There must be more to this guy other than being a smug bastard.'

Issei, as well as the other Gremory Devils, minus Asia and Grayfia, have narrowed their eyes further at Riser as his hand was reaching for her leg to rub it.

Before he could stroke it at least two or three times, Rias swatted his hand from her and stood up from the sofa.

"That's enough, Riser!" she snaps. "Get the wax out of your ears already! I have _no_ intention of _ever_ marrying you!"

"That won't do, my darling," Riser countered with a grin. "Riser believes the situation of your household is quite too serious for you to be selfish. Keep in mind, it's imperative for Devils to remain pure-blood. We're still recovering our numbers from the great war between the three factions."

"I will not bring my family to ruin! And I'm willing to take a husband!"

"Splendid," he replied with a smile. "Then let's-"

"But I _won't_ marry _you_!"

Riser's smile drops to a frown. His eyebrows then furrowed, showing his slight anger towards that sentence.

Rias continued from there.

"If I'm going to marry someone, it's going to be who _I_ acknowledge! Even the Devils from the old noble house have the right to choose! My father, my brother, and my whole clan made the decision to pair me with you because they were in too great of a rush! Now, I will say this once more,"

Rias sets her dark glare at Riser before finishing with: "I will _not_ Marry you!"

Rias made a slight surprised expression when Riser lifted her head up by her chin to face her eye to eye. He looked annoyed after hearing Rias say those words, as shown by his narrowed eyes, furrowed brows, and frown.

"You know, Rias, Riser bares the reputation of the house of Phenex."

His eyes narrow further, as does Rias'.

"And having you damage it is unacceptable."

Riser said the last part with a hint of fury in his voice.

This prompted the Gremory Devils, minus Asia and Grayfia to get into a battle stance with glares of their own at the Phenex Devil.

Issei unzipped the shinai bag that carried the Scale Blade and pulled it out where only the hilt and a fourth of its scabbard can be shown.

Riser then shoots a glare at the Gremory Devils.

"Riser doesn't care if he has to turn your servants into ash,"

He looks back to Rias while gritting his teeth.

"You _will_ return to the Underworld with me!"

Riser's dark-blue eyes turned fire-orange as a dangerous flame-like aura began surrounding the room. Rias retaliated by summoning her Demonic Power while her blue-green eyes turned crimson-red. The aura's were clashing with one another as both High-class Devils were having a stare down.

Feeling the high power of their Reiatsu, Issei got ready and began to slowly unsheathe his Scale Blade. As he was doing so, a small amount of sparks popped from the small blades as they were dragged from the scabbard.

"There's no need for incineration."

Issei ceased his unsheathing while Rias and Riser ceased their aura when they heard a stern voice coming from Grayfia. Issei widened his eyes slightly when he felt her Reiatsu grow as strong as he previously felt it yesterday.

The Devils, plus Yoruichi, turn to face Grayfia, who was looking at Rias and Riser with a dangerous stare.

"My Lady Rias-sama, Riser-sama, as you know, I'm here by order of Sirzechs-sama. Therefore, there will be _no_ disruption of peace."

Hearing the cold serious tone in her voice, Issei complied and sheathed his sword, storing it in his shinai bag and zipping it up afterwards.

Grayfia took notice of his sword while he did all of that, but she was only able to see the hilt. The pattern of the hilt alone made her curious about the blade.

'That sword Issei-sama has in his possession…'

Before she could think about the weapon anymore, she heard Riser chuckle while letting Rias go and shrugged at the maid.

"When told such an ominous thing by one who is known as 'The Ultimate Queen', even Riser can become a little fearful."

Issei noted what Riser said while staring at him with narrowed eyes, with the latter not noticing him.

'Well, at least his brain's not _that_ fried.'

He and the others payed attention to Grayfia, who continued to speak with Rias and Riser.

"My master anticipated there would be a conflict like this. As such, he has assigned me a last resort should communication break down."

"Last resort?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

"If my Lady insists on putting her personal preferences above those of her family, she is to settle this via a Rating Game with Riser-sama."

Rias widened her eyes when Grayfia mentioned that.

Issei however made a face of recognition.

"There it is again. Kaichou mentioned something called a Rating Game twice. Back at the club room, and in the indoor gym." He puts a hand on his chin while shifting his eyes toward the floor in thought. "Just what is a Rating Game?"

Before he could figure it out himself, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head towards the source to see Kiba looking at him, ready to explain what it is.

"It's a game noble Devils play with each other. Long story short, they and their servants compete in battle to determine who wins."

Issei raised an eyebrow at Kiba's explanation.

"Like chess, except filled with action and crap?"

"That's right," replied Akeno. "It's the reason we have individual powers that are inspired by what we call: Evil Pieces, In order to play in the Rating Games.

"I see," Issei said with a whistle. "That's good to know."

"In other words, they decided to have me fight against Riser in a game as a last resort if I refuse?" Rias asked, her face morphing into anger and frustration as she tightens her fists. "Just how far are they intending to interfere with my life to feel satisfied?!"

"So do you decline to participate in the game?" Grayfia asked her.

"No, I won't," Rias replied immediately, giving Grayfia a stare. "Since this is a chance for me to be free, I'll compete in the Rating Game!"

"Ha! You're really going to do it?" Riser asks her with a smug look on his face. "Keep in mind that Riser's already a mature Devil who has played through numerous Rating Games and has scored numerous wins for himself."

"I don't care!" Rias retorted, pointing a finger at him. "I will compete in the game, and I _will_ defeat you, Riser!"

Riser closes his eyes with a "Hmph" while smirking.

"Very well, Rias. If you win, do what you please. But if _I_ win, you _will_ be my bride."

Rias nodded while glaring at the Phenex Devil, accepting his terms.

Grayfia nods towards the two High-class Devils.

"Understood. I, Grayfia, have confirmed both sides' decisions. I will be in charge of the game between the two households. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

Grayfia bows her head in response and lifts it back up.

"Very well. I will inform the two households after Riser-sama takes his leave."

Akeno taps on Issei's shoulder, getting his attention, and whispers in his ear.

"By the way, only mature Devils are allowed to participate in the games. She never had much opportunity to practice in battle for them."

Issei widened his eyes in surprise at her statement.

"So are you saying we're at a disadvantage?"

"We've got more to worry about than that," Koneko interjected, keeping her icy stare on Riser.

Riser then turns his head to Rias, getting her attention.

"Rias, I have to ask. Is this group the extent of your servants? They're all you have?"

Rias glares at Riser.

"And if they are?"

"Ha ha ha! Then this game will be a laugh! Only your Queen, the Priestess of Thunder can fight on par with my adorable servants. Also,"

Riser turns his head left and snaps his fingers. After he did that, a large orange transportation circle appeared at the same area his own. After erupting in flames, it revealed fifteen gorgeous women.

"While you have only five pieces," Riser continued as he pointed at the women with a wide shit eating grin. "Riser has a complete set."

The women who were a part of his peerage, most of them having neutral faces consisted of the following:

There were two smiling twin loli girls with short turquoise hair tied to one side in a yellow ribbon, both opposite sides to each twin, and blue eyes. They both wore gym outfits, which consisted of a white T-shirts with blue accents, short black leggings that could almost show off the curves of their butts, blue sneakers over knee-high socks, and an orange wrist band on their right wrist.

Next to them were two twin catgirls with and the same hairstyle as one another, having long hair that reached down their rear ends, except one had blue eyes and red hair tied in a braid with a pink bow while the other had red eyes and blue hair tied in a ponytail. They both had a fang sticking out of their mouths, the redhead having one on her right, and the bluehead on her left, mirroring each other. They wore white sailor uniforms that were too small on them, that you could see their abdomen, shoulders, and lower breasts exposed. They also wore fighting gloves that matched their hair color, black short skirts and leg guards that too matched their hair color, which also exposed the heel and forefoot and midfoot of their feet.

Two of the women, one having shoulder length light-brown hair, dark-brown eyes, and the other having brown shoulder length hair, blue eyes, and were both wearing sleeveless french-maid uniforms, except the light-brown haired girl's was brown and had a heart shaped chest piece, cuffs, and wore light gray tights, while the brown-haired girl's was black, exposed her cleavage, and she wore forearm finger-less gloves.

The girl next to them had tanned skin, amber eyes, and pale-blue hair that was tied up at the top with the rest of her hair flowing down her back. She was not wearing any footwear, but she did wear a bikini made up of metallic underwire brassier and a silk loincloth that exposes her sides. She also wore a silver colored tiara and neck rings with a ruby and blue gem respectively, along with ruby orb earrings, a snake-themed bracelet on her upper arm, and a transparent pink veil across both of her arms.

The young girl in front of those three had light-brown eyes and blue hair styled in four short ponytails, two were pointing upwards, while the other two were pointing downwards, with the front of her hair having split bangs going across her forehead, with side bangs framing her face. Her attire consisted of a white haori with a red obi under her red happi. She also wears bandages on her forearms and shins, black guards over her hands, and white socks with a pair of zori shoes. She could be seen holding a wooden staff in her right hand.

The next girl had light-brown eyes, and black shoulder length hair tied on opposite sides. She wore a kimono with a color pattern of purple, orange, and pink.

The girl next to her had blue eyes, and blonde hair tied into twin-tails with large, drill-like curls and blue ribbons keeping them in place. She wore a pink dress with a darker pink bow in the middle of it.

The next girl looked like a tough, ruthless one, having gray eyes, and short light brown hair with three red highlights across. She wore a plain white mask that only covers her right side of her face, a black biker's jacket that exposed her cleavage with matching jeans, fighting gloves, and three leather straps on both of her arms, and two more on her right calve. Her clothes appear to have some parts cut off, with the jacket exposing her abdomen, and the right pant leg was missing, exposing the bottom right cheek of her ass.

The girl next to her looked tough too. She was a tall woman with brown eyes and black hair tied into five twin ponytails going around her head. She wore a white top with black accents that have a diamond shape on the chest area, showing off her cleavage, red shorts, and armored knee-high boots with matching gauntlets. A large Zweihander sword can be seen resting on her back in its scabbard.

The next girl looked like a Chinese kung fu fighter. She has blue-green eyes and shoulder lengthed black hair with two white buns on both sides of her head. She wears a navy-blue qipao with golden accents, which was open at the chest area, causing her cleavage to be exposed, and it was easy to tell that she was not wearing any underwear at all. She also had a white sash around her stomach and wore black, low-heeled shoes, and black arm-guards over her forearms.

The girl next to her with emerald-green eyes and short light-brown hair with white headband wrapped around her head appeared to be a Knight, judging by the full set of armor with black accents she was wearing despite wearing a light-gray dress. She was equipped with a broadsword sheathed on her right hip of her weapon's belt, and a dagger sheathed on her left.

And Finally, there was a voluptuous, busty woman with purple eyes and matching lipstick and wavy hair that falls all the way down her back, with the front right of her hair falling over her breast and covers her right eye, while the left falls near the top of her skirt. Her attire consisted of a navy-blue tunic with gold accents, with the top revealing much of her cleavage, and a pale-blue skirt with open sides, revealing her thigh-high stockings with garter belts underneath her black shoes. Over top her clothes, she wore a white overcoat with black and gold accents and matching pauldron. She was also holding a wand in her left hand.

Issei scanned the girls with slightly wide eyes and slightly opened mouth in shock.

'These girls… Are Riser's servants? Then that means…'

After remembering the knowledge of Devils and their modern logic, Issei put two and tow together and deadpanned at the girls with a "this has to be a joke" frown. He then turned his head towards Riser and aims his deadpan right at him, not blinking for a second.

"Uh… Rias…" Riser calls to her with a weirded out expression, noticing Issei's deadpanned glare. "One of your servants is looking at me as if I've done something incredibly stupid."

Riser's servants, the Gremory servants, and Yoruichi took notice of the deadpan after Riser brought it up.

Rias sent Riser a smirk while walking towards her own servants.

"That's because Ise understands why you make a _terrible_ husband. He knows that with your servants being all female, you already have plenty of sex toys to play with, and I'm just another piece for your collection to you!"

Riser's brow twitched a little at Rias' outburst, which lead everyone else, except for Grayfia and Issei to have shocked expressions at what she called his peerage.

"Mou! The redhead's mean!" one of the turquoise-haired Phenex Devils shouted with a pout, getting everyone, minus Issei's attention.

"Who ya callin' 'sex toys', ya meanie?!" questioned her twin with furrowed eyebrows and a pout.

Riser chuckled at the loli twins' reactions as he smiled and turned his head to face them.

"Nonsense, girls. My Rias is just jealous that we're close to one another."

Riser beckons the two girls to come to him.

"Come, Ile and Nel, let's show her servants how close we are."

The turquoise-haired twins skipped towards Riser with chirpy smiles. After they made it to him, Riser bent over to Ile and began kissing her on the lips.

Rias began gritting her teeth in agitation, while the others, minus Grayfia, and the still deadpan glaring Issei, had looks of disgust, as their tongues began to dance with each other.

While Riser and Ile were tongue kissing, the latter's cheeks turned dark-red while making lewd sounds out of her mouth as he began to fondle her left small breast, and the right cheek of her butt.

The two kept making out until Riser moved onto her twin sister, Nel, doing the same lewd actions as he did with Ile.

Issei was still deadpanning at the Phenex Devil, fully aware of how much of a playboy jackass he is. While to everyone he looks like he's still deadpanning in silence, he _did_ note that most of the girls in his peerage rolled their eyes and/or cringed at Riser's actions in disgust.

Riser notices Issei's deadpan stare with a twitch in his left eye and a small red tick mark on his forehead. After finishing smooching with Nel, he sends him a glare with an angry finger pointing at him.

"You've been staring at me like that for quite a while now, boy!" He says to him with gritted teeth. "If you have something to say, then say it!"

The ORC gang, Grayfia, Yoruichi, and the girls in Riser's peerage looked to Issei, who was still giving him the non-phased deadpan glare, and waited for his answer.

Surprisingly enough, about ten of Riser's servants were the most interested in what his response is going to be. Especially the blonde-haired girl in pink, who looked at the brown-haired Pawn with a calculating gaze.

Taking a deep breath, Issei folds his arms in front of his chest and sends a harsh glare at Riser.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a man."

Riser widened his eyes in outrage at Issei's reply, while the former's servants silently gasped at his choice of words.

"M-M-M-Me?! Pathetic?!" Riser sputters in anger. "Why you Low-class brat! Rias! You should be doing a better job at disciplining you servants."

Rias scoffed as she folds her arms under her bust with closed eyes.

"Not when it comes to _you_."

Issei continued from there while keeping his glare tight on Riser.

"You call Buchou 'your beloved Rias'. Tell me, do you _really_ love her?"

The ORC gang, Rias, Grayfia, and some of the Phenex Devils were surprised at the sudden question. Riser however just bursts into laughter.

"HA HA HA! What kind of question is that, boy?! Of course I love her! Not only does she have a hot and tight body, but she's also the next heir of the Gremory! What's _not_ to love about her?! All of the High-class Devils would _kill_ to have a hot chick like her! And guess what, Low-class, _I'm_ the lucky groom!"

Rias, her servants, Yoruichi, and even some of the girls in Riser's peerage looked disgusted at Riser's answer. Grayfia didn't show it, but she too hated the words that came out his mouth.

Issei shook his head at him, keeping his cold stare on the jackass.

"Again, you're pathetic."

[Play song: Bleach: On the Verge of Insanity]

Issei's insult fueled more rage into Riser's eyes as the latter started tightening his fists.

"You… How dare you call me pathetic a second time?! Do you know who you're talking to, boy! I am a Phenex! An immortal bird! And a High-class Devil! You should know your place!"

Issei was unfazed at his yelling, and continued to speak.

"I dare call you that again because you only see Buchou as an object, a toy to play with. You believe that because of your so called 'immortality' and power, you believe you should get what you want, no questions asked." Issei's eyes narrow. "You don't love Buchou because of how much of a kind, warm hearted person she is, you only love her because of her reputation, and for her body, and body only."

The ORC crew behind him were left completely astonished by Issei's words. They couldn't believe the guts he had to speak to a High-class Devil the way he's doing right now.

Rias was touched by Issei's bravery. She felt butterflies in her stomach when she heard him speak out against her 'Fiance' and pointing out what makes him a bad person.

The blonde-haired girl in pink in Riser's peerage had wide eyes at the scene before her.

'He's not even afraid of him! Who is he?!'

The masked woman, and the woman with the large sword behind her back had nearly unnoticeable red cheeks as they stared at Issei. They had to admit to themselves, they actually found him cute when he's acting tough.

Everyone except for Issei then jumped a little when they heard Riser begin to growl at Issei.

"You dare mock me?! An immortal High-class Devil, who will always be higher than you no matter what?!"

"A High-class Devil?" Issei let's out a chuckle, surprising everyone and infuriating Riser even more. "What I see is an overaged spoiled brat who probably barely trains in combat because of your so called 'immortality'. And because of that, you've gotten it all over your head, thinking you're an unstoppable being while being drunk off your own power." He then puts on a mocked disappointed voice for his last sentence: "Taking your power for granted like this. If you want my opinion, your parents should be ashamed of you," He then lets a smirk form on his lips. "Yakitori Bird Brain."

Everyone, even Grayfia could not believe what they were hearing. Issei Hyoudou, a Low-class Devil, was roasting Riser Phenex, a Devil of a higher class. Not regretting a single word coming out of his mouth.

Riser's eyes were now burning, both literally and figuratively. He took great offense at being called a 'Yakitori Bird Brain'. Deciding that this was the last straw, He shoots his head towards one of his servants.

"Mira! Shut this brat up!"

The blue-haired girl, the one he calls Mira, jumps forward with her staff held tightly in her left hand. She landed in front of Issei and looks at him with a face that's ready for battle.

Issei sighs at this and looks at Mira with a calm stare, not at all startled by her presence.

"I don't want to fight you, Mira," Issei says in a calm, polite voice. "It's pointless to waste your breath."

Mira only smirked at Issei, aiming her staff towards Issei. She then thrusts it towards him, aiming for his stomach.

Unfortunately for her, her attack didn't go as she thought it would.

Issei caught her staff with his left hand while his right hand was in his pant pocket.

Mira widened her eyes in disbelief at his block. She struggled to pull the staff out of his hand, but to no avail. Issei had a tight, firm grip on the weapon.

Issei's eyes become stern as he tightens his grip on the staff, making Mira gasp with widened eyes.

Issei then strikes her with her own weapon on her stomach, sending her flying backwards back to the other Phenex Devils.

Everyone, except for Grayfia and Yoruichi widened their eyes at Issei's counterattack. Rias only smirked, knowing full well what her precious Pawn was capable of after his battles.

After two of Riser's servants helped Mira to her feet, she sets her glare at the boy who easily defeated her. More specifically, her staff in his left hand.

Issei noticed her stare and gripped the staff tight.

"You'll get it back when your group leaves."

Mira widens her eyes a little at the stern tone in Issei's voice. She didn't know why, but it also made her cheeks tinge a little pink too.

"D-D-Don't get too cocky, boy!"

Issei turns his head to face Riser with a neutral expression, not at all fazed by his rage fueled voice.

"Mira over there is one of my Pawns, and she's the weakest of my peerage!"

Issei scoffed at this.

"That's kinda harsh, don't you think?"

"Eh?" Riser says with a raised eyebrow.

Mira, on the other hand, was wondering what Issei was talking about.

"Even if she is the weakest in your peerage," Issei continued. "It doesn't mean she can't get stronger."

Mira widened her eyes in surprise.

'W-What?'

Issei continues from there.

"If you want my opinion, you should encourage your servants to get stronger so they can improve from their previous battles, not simply label them weakest to strongest and leave it at that."

The Phenex Devils widened their eyes at Issei's statement. They did not expect him to be so encouraging for people to get stronger.

Mira in particular, was touched by Issei mentioning her getting stronger being a possibility. She now had softened eyes with light-red cheeks caused by the kindness he had in his voice.

"Oh, that's right," Issei says with slightly wide eyes as his brows stay furrowed. "You only use your servants just to satisfy the many fetishes you have. You probably don't give a damn about them becoming stronger than before, don't you?"

Riser's eyes twitched as he points an angry finger at him.

"Cocky bastard! Let's see how you do with a Rook and a Knight!" he then turns to the masked woman and the one with the zweihander. "Isabela! Siris!"

The masked woman called Isabela, and the zweihander wilder, Siris, jumped with slightly wide eyes at Riser's call.

They hesitated at first, but they walked towards Issei's direction, afraid of what could happen if they disobeyed their master.

Issei noticed them out of the corner of his left eye and turned his attention towards him, causing the two to get startled a little by his stare.

"I have no intention to fight with you two either," he says to them, sounding more polite than he did with Riser. "Please wait until the Rating Game. Then I'll fight with you two."

Isabela and Siris widened their eyes a little at his calm, kind voice.

"What are you two waiting for!" Riser snapped at them. "Teach him a lesson he soon won't forget!"

Issei sighed in frustration and turns his head back to Riser.

"Heh! I assume that's what you do during your free time?" Issei begins to ask. "Bully lower-class Devils just to fuel your ego?"

Riser widened his eyes while beginning to sweat. This earned him a chuckle from Issei as he continued.

"You really have no encouragement for lower-class folk to become stronger, don't you? That makes you even more of a sorry, pathetic excuse of a man, Yakitori Bird Brain Sadist."

Riser started grinding his teeth harder and balled his fists as hard as they could ball up. He shoots an impatient glare at his masked Rook and his Knight.

"Go on, you two! Fuck him up!"

"B-B-But Riser-sama," Siris stuttered with red cheeks. "The boy sounds serious about not wanting to fight us."

"Do as you're told!" Riser snarls. "He's hurting my pride!"

ZIP! POW!

"BUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

Everyone, including Grayfia, gasped in utter shock when they saw Issei approach Riser in a mere second and slammed Mira's staff into his stomach. The force was strong enough, it made everyone's eyes as wide as saucers when Riser coughed up blood from his mouth and make him fall on his knees.

"Your 'pride'?"

Everyone jumped at Issei's sudden change of tone in his voice. It sounded angry, agitated, fueled by rage.

As soon as Riser looked up towards Issei, the latter's fist collided with the Phenex Devil's face, delivering a powerful punch.

The punch was so powerful, it caused Riser to collide towards the wall behind him with a small trail of blood flying from his face. As soon as he made contact with the wall, it formed a crater the size of Riser himself.

"Your 'pride'?!" Issei repeated, sounding more angrier than last time.

Riser looked up towards Issei with his expression twisted with anger. But that anger immediately dwindled and switched to nervousness as he started to see a black aura with a white outlining begin to radiate from Issei like a smoking chimney, constantly getting larger every three seconds.

Isabela and Siris immediately backed away from Issei to their fellow Devils while witnessing his anger towards their master. Even the blonde-haired girl was startled at the aura fuming from Issei's body.

The ORC group, on the other hand, immediately recognized this aura as they started to become worried for their fellow Devil. Even Grayfia was staring at the aura as if it's something potentially dangerous.

Yoruichi, however, just simply stared at the black and white aura with caution, as if he's seen it before.

Issei's bangs were hiding his eyes, but Riser knew full well that he was staring at him with fury within them.

"Your pride is asking you to hurt people just because they're a lower class than you."

After Issei said this to him, the black and white aura began forming an oval-shaped ball behind him, with its white outlining thicker than the rest of the aura's flow was.

"Your pride is telling you that you can do as you please just because of your reputation."

Everyone could tell just by Issei's voice that he was infuriated when Riser mentioned his pride.

"Wh… What's happening to Issei-san?" Asia asked aloud, worried about her friend.

Rias and Akeno have become wary of the black oval as it began to form three white stripes on its top. So was Koneko, but her eyes were showing fear and worry for Issei, while Rias and Akeno were being cautious.

Issei's eyes are now visible to everyone due to his aura's wind pressure moving his bangs out of the way.

"Your pride is telling you to marry a woman just because of her reputation!"

Issei's voice was so loud and fueled with anger, it caused most people to flinch at the tone. The only people who weren't fazed by it were Grayfia and Yoruichi.

Everyone's eyes widened further when the oval began forming two horizontal white stripes below the three vertical ones. The aura was also causing the atmosphere to feel scary, as if they're no longer safe here.

"If that's how it is," Issei continued. "Then you can bet your ass I'm going to hurt what you call your MOTHERFUCKING PRIDE!"

Right after he said the word 'pride', the black oval shaped aura took on the form of a menacing skull. The three vertical stripes resided on the left of its forehead while the two horizontal stripes were at the bottom of its left glowing eye.

Riser started sweating bullets again as the black skull was glaring right at him.

'Such power..! And it's coming from _him_?!'

 **"** **Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"**

Riser's eyes widened in fear as his servants and Asia and Koneko start shaking as they heard the skull literally growl at Riser.

Yoruichi now had widened narrowed eyes at what the black aura has formed, nervousness visible on his face.

Grayfia kept her posture while her slightly wide eyes were staring at the aura modeled skull with caution.

Rias and Akeno recognize the skull right away, as well as Kiba, and the shuttering Asia and Koneko.

"Issei-san…"

"Issei-senpai…"

"Ise-kun…"

"Issei…"

'That skull…' Rias began in her thoughts. 'This is the third time I've seen it before.' She began recalling her previous two sightings of the skull in her memories. 'One where Issei almost became a Hollow… and another during his fight with Rika.'

Rias then narrowed her eyes slightly at the skull as she noticed something a little different about it.

'And from the first two viewings of the skull, it only had three black stripes on the left of its forehead. But now… it has two more horizontal stripes below its left eye.'

Rias holds her hands into her heart.

'Ise… Just what's going on?'

Issei kept his glare on Riser, who was currently unable to move due to how much the black skull behind him terrified him. Even his servants were too scared to move an inch from their position.

The group then widened their eyes further when they were able to get a glimpse at Issei's left eye. Was it just them, or did his iris turn from its gentle doe-brown color to a golden-yellow?

Yoruichi looked like he was about to step in on the situation. Before he could, he, along with Rias, Akeno, Asia, Kiba, the Phenex Devils, and even Grayfia widened their eyes again when Koneko suddenly hugged onto Issei's arm and started pulling on it twice.

This seemed to have snapped Issei out of it as he jumped from the sudden contact, causing the skull to evaporate in seconds. After blinking twice, his left iris returned to its original brown color. He looked down to his left to see a worried Koneko shaking his head rapidly at him.

"Riser-sama!"

The purple-haired woman ran towards Riser to help him get unstuck from the wall.

Issei blinked once. Then twice. Then thrice.

"Koneko-chan? You alright?"

Koneko's eyes softened when she heard Issei's current voice. He sounded worried, and more gentle then he did when he had that black and white aura radiating from him.

Koneko proceeded to cuddle up against his arm in relief.

"I am now."

Issei tilted his head to the side when he heard her whisper that to him.

Koneko on the other hand, was thankful that the black skull with white eyes and stripes was gone and that Issei hadn't gone berserk. She didn't want him to end up like that one person she's seen go crazy before because of that aura, especially with how it was shaped like a skull. The skull reminded her of the creatures she has witnessed before. And…

It reminded her of that mask…

"Let's have the game in ten days, Rias."

Everyone looked towards Riser, who was being helped up by who Issei assumed was his Queen. She gave Issei a quick glare before escorting Riser back to his servants.

Riser gives Issei a glare of his own.

"Be grateful that I have other things to do, Low-class Devil, and that I didn't sent my Queen, Yubelluna to hurt you!"

Issei only gave him a glare back putting his right hand in his right pocket since Koneko was still holding onto his left arm.

"Ten days?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you giving me a handicap?"

"Is it a problem?" asked Riser with a smirk. "If we were to fight now, you and your servants wouldn't be at their full potential. I'm simply giving you all time to train so the game would be at least entertaining for me."

Rias narrowed her eyes at Riser as an orange transportation circle appeared beneath his and his servants' feet.

Issei looks at Mira, who's cheeks turned a little red, as he brings her staff from his left hand to his right.

"I haven't forgotten, Mira."

Issei throws the staff gently at Mira, with the latter catching it in her hands afterwards.

"Don't be a disappointment to your master, boy!"

Issei sets his attention on Riser with a neutral expression.

"I will admit, you're pretty damn strong for a Pawn." some of Riser's servants gasped when they heard what piece he is. "But don't think this means you can defeat me in the Rating Game!" Riser then turns to Rias. "Farewell, my love. The next time we meet will be in the game."

[song end]

The Phenex Devils have now teleported away from the club room. Before they did, Issei couldn't help but notice that most of the girls were looking at him with warm gazes, with three of them being Isabela, Siris, and Mira.

Issei tilted his head at this, but decided to not think about it right now. Riser gave him and the team ten days to train for the Rating Game, and he did _not_ want to waste these days.

Issei went towards Rias when he saw her have a scared expression on her face. As he made it towards her, she jumped with a blink when she felt Issei place his hands on her shoulders. Rias cheeks turn red when Issei looks into her eyes with a confident look.

Yoruichi looked at Issei with a hint of worry in his eyes. He was worried that the skull formed from Issei's black and white aura might be a sign of something… dangerous happening to him in the near future, since he personally found that skull to be recognizable.

Grayfia kept her eyes on Issei, still thinking about what happened between him and Riser.

'What was that aura and power?' she wondered in her thoughts. 'It felt… familiar… In fact, it nearly felt like an aura that belonged to a-'

"You've got nothing to worry about, Buchou."

Grayfia was interrupted when he heard Issei talk to Rias with a reassuring voice. Akeno, followed by Kiba, Koneko, and Asia, walked behind him and gave Rias the same confident smiles as Issei had.

"This is an opportunity for us to grant you your freedom," Issei continued. "And believe me when I say this,"

Rias widens her eyes when Issei's eyes narrow before finishing his sentence.

"When the Rating Game begins, I'm going to show that Phenex bird what _real_ strength is!"

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's note: The first chapter of the Phenex Bird arc has finally been completed! Holy Hell this one took longer than I expected. One, because this is the longest chapter I've written so far, and two, a lot of school stuff has been really slowing me down on this. I can't do weekly or monthly chapter releases because of that. And even if summer break rolls in, I like to work at my own pace since I don't want to _only_ do writing. After all, I do have to plan on what happens next in the story, don't I? Plus, I'm starting to read my first Stephen King book called: "The Gunslinger". I've read a few pages and I've gotten really interested in it and want to read some more of it.**

 **I'm also writing some ideas for my future stories in my bio, so expect those to roll in sooner or later.**

 **Anyway, we finally got to meet the prick, Riser himself, and Issei taught him a lesson didn't he. He even one some of the Phenex Devils' interest/feelings for him too. Which ones? The harem list will say.**

 **I also went ahead and got a little, dare I say, steamy between Akeno and Issei. Akeno's one of my favorite girls in the DXD series, so I wrote an ecchi scene dedicated to her and Issei.**

 **While Grayfia found something odd about the aura and power Issei had, Yoruichi knew exactly what it was. Why? It's for me to know and for you to find out.**

 **P.S. If you're wondering who that girl Issei was thinking about before Rias came to his room was, it's not Rias. I plan for a different main girl for the harem that isn't Rias, but the Gremory Devil will still get some attention, no worries.**

 **Now, allow to explain Chibi Issei. This little guy is used for some comic relief at times, but is mostly used when the real Issei is in a situation where a girl in his harem tries to seduce the shy tough guy, making the Chibi version technically the guy who tries to keep him conscious.**

 **And… I'm out of stuff to say in the A.N. So…**

 **Next Chapter: "The black and white aura", Issei's friends, as well as, and mostly, his Familiar, Yoruichi, are going to help Issei unlock more of his potential that _isn't_ his Boosted Gear. How will Yoruichi help? Find out next chapter.**

 **Issei's current harem (in no particular order): Tsubaki, Akeno, Rias, Asia, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubasa, Reya, Ravel, Isabela, Siris, Karlamine, Mira, Marion, Aika, Murayama.**

 **Until then, I'm gonna continue getting ready for school related crap, and try to relax. No worries, I'll work on the story from time to time, it'll just be on my own, slow and steady pace. No rushing.**


	13. Chapter 12: The black and white aura

_**Before we begin…**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

 **{Ddraig speaking from the Boosted Gear and in Issei's Dream world.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement.}_

" _Flashback quotes, Chibi Issei."_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own High school DXD nor the elements of Bleach. Please support the official release. Thank you.**_

 _ **Right, Moving on!**_

* * *

Chapter 12: The Black and White Aura

Issei was currently walking up a hill on a hot sunny day sweating whilfe carrying a large bag full of heavy stuff, and his two swords in their own shinai bag. He, along with the rest of the Gremory Devils, were wearing a series of clothing that was fit for an explorer due to the location they were at.

Since the Gremory Devils were given ten days to prepare for the Rating Game against Riser Phenex, Rias decided to use that time to take her servants to an outdoor field surrounded by trees and rocky boulders so they could train for the game. But first, Issei, along with Koneko and Kiba, have to make it uphill to where ever is up there while carrying a lot of heavy stuff on their backs.

"You're almost there," Rias said to Issei as she noticed that he was making good progress on getting uphill.

"Visualize, Ise-kun," advised Akeno, who was crouched next to Rias' right, getting a drink of water while also enjoying seeing the sweat produce from Issei's forehead.

"Visualize?!" Issei said in a confused tone with a raised eyebrow. "What the Hell's that suppose to mean?!"

"Um, Buchou," Asia began, making Rias turn her head left to face her. "Maybe I should help him?"

"He'll be alright, Asia."

Asia looked down when she heard a male voice talk to her and saw that it was Issei's Familiar, Yoruichi in between her and Rias. Since Issei told him that they were going to a secluded area on top of a mountain to train for the Rating Game, Yoruichi decided to tag along with him, to which Issei agreed.

"My Familiar master is a very strong man," Yoruichi continued while giving Asia a confident smile. "If Issei carries all of that stuff on his own, then I have no doubt his strength will increase from there."

Asia blinked twice at Yoruichi's statement and then looked back to Issei, who was getting near to where she, Yoruichi, Rias, and Akeno were.

"Buchou, I've gathered some herbs. Let's use them to cook a meal tonight."

Turning his head right to find the source of Kiba's voice, he widened his eyes in surprise when he saw him pass by on his right while carrying a bag was larger than his own.

'Damn! I had no idea Kiba could be this strong, since I've only seen him fight with swords that don't appear to be too heavy for him.'

"Scuse me."

Issei made a face of shock when he then saw Koneko pass by carrying a bag that's about the size of a house.

Before he could comment on it, Issei suddenly began losing balance due to the shock he was in. But before he could fall over, he focused his strength on his left leg, which he was balancing on, and tried to place his right foot firmly on the ground. Three seconds later, he got his foot there, panted four times, and slightly sped up uphill to make it to his friends and Familiar.

'That… was a close one.'

"Hey, Yoruichi?"

The black cat turned his head right when he heard Rias call to him.

"So, why did you want to tag along with us?"

"Well, if it's alright with you, I wish to train my master in not only combat, but to see if I can help him get control of his aura as well."

"Eh?" Rias raises an eyebrow. "But I plan on having my servants train him. Kiba with sword combat, Koneko with hand-to-hand combat, and Akeno in magic."

Yoruichi kept his stare on Rias, not at all phased by what she said.

"Worry not, I'll let them help out for today. I'm just asking that after they train with Issei, I wish to handle the rest on my own. If you don't trust me, then I'll allow you to watch me train him so you can get a better understanding."

Rias made a thinking expression while having her hand on her chin. Since Yoruichi did mention Issei's black aura that had a white outlining, it did make Rias curious about what it is and what it's capable of. And if Yoruichi really can help Issei in controlling it and see what it can do, then maybe it could give her team the upper hand in the Rating Game.

After making up her mind, Rias shifts her blue-green eyes towards Yoruichi.

"Well, okay. But exactly how are you going to train him?"

"Oh, don't worry, Rias," Yoruichi assured her. "I have my ways."

Rias wasn't sure how to respond to his answer, so she decided to just nod in reply.

By the time they finished their conversation, Issei made it to his friends while panting heavily.

"Alright… I made it… to the top…" Issei said in between pants.

"Great job, Ise," Rias congratulated. She then motioned her servants to follow her to their destination, with Yoruichi following them while next to Issei.

By the time they made it to the area they were going to train at, Issei and Asia saw were surprised to see how amazing the area looked. They saw a white mansion with blue rooftops surrounded by trees, a circular pond in front of the mansion that was surrounded by shrubberies, and a circular structured column building at the ponds left, which too was surrounded by trees.

"Wow! How beautiful!" Asia complimented with stars in her eyes and a happy smile.

"Yeah, it's a pretty cool location," agreed Issei with a nod.

"Alright then," Rias began, turning around to face her servants. "Let's head inside, drop off our stuff, and begin training."

Issei nearly face faulted at the last part she said, but was able to prevent it so he wouldn't possibly get killed by the heavy stuff he was carrying. He then shoots an annoyed glare at Rias.

"Seriously?! After towing all of our heavy crap?!" He then let's out a sigh of irritation while his eyes turned beady brown. "You really are a Devil, ain't ya?"

Rias turned her head towards Issei's direction and gave him a playful smile.

"Why thank you."

Issei deadpans at her response.

'Good Lord…'

* * *

[Opening song: Bleach: Brave Souls intro]

* * *

The ORC team are now changing into their gym uniforms after they got into the building. When Issei finished getting his on, he turns to Kiba, who also got finished dressing into his gym uniform, to ask him something that was on his mind while he was changing.

"Um, hey, Kiba?"

Kiba turns his head towards him as Issei got his attention.

"Yes, Issei?"

"Quick question," Issei began. "Remember when you said that you hated Fallen Angels?"

Kiba raises an eyebrow at him while remaining quiet.

Noticing his silence, Issei scratch the back of his head while shifting his eyes left shyly.

"Sorry. I was just curious. It's just that I never understood what they did to you to make you hold such a grudge."

Kiba lets out a sigh while keeping his stare on his friend.

"Look, I told you I can't promise you on getting along them, alright? Don't get me wrong, I understand where you're coming from, after what happened back at the abandoned church. It's just that I can't at the moment."

"Eh?" a confused expression was created from Issei's face. "Um… That wasn't what I was talking about though."

"I know," replied Kiba with another sigh. "Sorry, I'm just more concerned in winning this Rating Game than my previous experiences with Fallen Angels. I wish to worry about the present more than the past."

Issei blinked at his statement, but decided to leave it at that, sharing the same concern for winning as Kiba was.

"I understand." Issei then slams a fist on his chest and lets a confident smirk form from his lips. "Let's get out there and do what we can to get stronger so we can beat that Yakitori Bird Brain!"

Kiba gives him a smirk of his own, and the two bumped fists.

"Yeah, let's fry us some chicken!"

Issei and Kiba then share a laugh at the joke the latter made before heading out of their changing room to meet up with the others.

* * *

 _ **~Training #1: Sword combat~**_

Issei and Kiba were five feet away from each other while holding wooden samurai bokken swords. One for Issei, and one for Kiba.

"You ready?" Kiba asks him as he spreads his legs apart and holds his bokken in front of him. "I won't go easy on you."

"Hmph!" Issei smirks at him while he gets into the same fighting position as his sparring partner. "Neither will I, blonde."

Issei bends his legs forward and breaks into a sprint while holding his bokken at his right side, planning on hitting Kiba with a left sideways slash.

Seeing the attack coming, Kiba maneuvered his arms left and blocked the oncoming attack, resulting in their bokkens clashing with one another. He then lifted his bokken upwards to give Issei a downwards slash, but was blocked by the latter.

The rest of the ORC group and Yoruichi were watching the two Devils spar with each other from three feet away. The group were mostly watching Issei's performance in sword combat. Rias watched on with a proud smirk, Asia appeared to be getting ready to heal one of them in case one of them gets injured badly after the spar, Koneko just looked on with her usual neutral stare, and Akeno was mostly watching Issei with a sultry gaze.

Yoruichi however, was paying very close attention to his Familiar master, watching his every move.

'His movements are quite fluid,' he commented in his thoughts. 'Looks like his previous battles he had really paid off for him.' his eyes narrow. 'But he's still got a long way to go, especially with his aura.'

Issei and Kiba continued clashing their bokkens with each other, not taking their eyes off one another for a second. The two have been constantly shifting from offense to defense depending on their current situation in the spar.

After clashing one more time, Issei being the attacker and Kiba being the one who blocked the attack, the two jumped away from each other until they were six feet apart.

The two were now panting while sweating from their constant movement. Both were staring at each other with a smirk formed from their lips.

"Your swordsmanship impresses me, Issei," Kiba complimented. "You also appear to be much quicker with a sword in that size than the one I gave you."

A soft chuckle escapes Issei's lips.

"You're not too bad yourself."

While the two were getting back into their fighting stances with their bokkens, Issei had an idea on how to make their spar more entertaining and wanted to share that idea with Kiba.

"Oi, Kiba."

"Yeah?"

Upon getting his sparring partner's attention, Issei allows his lips to form a smirk.

"What do you say we spice this spar up a bit?"

"Oh? How so?" Kiba asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"By using our speed," Issei replied as he points his bokken at him. "Your speed as a Knight vs the speed of my Shunpo. How 'bout it?"

Kiba was surprised at the young man's request. After letting his speed challenge description sink in, his brows furrowed and his lips curled upward into a smile.

"Alright then," Kiba responded as he cocks his bokken to the side. "Challenge accepted."

At that moment, Issei and Kiba charged at each other in high speed. When they clashed their bokkens at the moment they were near each other, a loud sound of wood striking wood echoed throughout the training field.

The two bokken wielders then backed away from each other, Kiba, using his Knight trait, and Issei, using his Shunpo. The two then started strafing around the field in their speed, not taking an eye off of each other for a second. One kept charging at the other, attempting to strike each other down with their bokkens.

"Ara ara, looks like they're taking their spar to the next level," Akeno said as she watched Issei and Kiba dashing about the field, clashing their bokkens from time to time.

Rias kept her stare on the fight, studying their movement patterns.

"From what I can tell from watching their speed, Ise seems to be on offense more than Kiba."

Rias then turns her head to Yoruichi, who was more observant on the fight than her.

"What do you think, Yoruichi?"

The black cat shifted his eyes towards the redhead Devil.

"Seems that way. But, since he appears to be dodging attacks more than blocking, being on the offensive might serve him well in his battles." Yoruichi then narrows his eyes. "But, that doesn't automatically mean that he'll always have the upper hand when he dodges. His opponent can always predict where he'll go next and then try to counter-attack."

Rias nodded her head in agreement with the cat.

"I'll be sure that Koneko will make him have to block when it's their turn to spar."

Meanwhile, Issei and Kiba have clashed once more. This time, Issei was on the defensive side, blocking slash after slash from his sparring partner.

"Or… Maybe not," Rias added, seeing Issei blocking Kiba's attacks by constantly shifting his arms positions to where his bokken is positioned horizontally or vertically, depending on the swings Kiba throws. "Ise looks to be doing fine in blocking with a sword."

"How 'bout his fists?" Koneko asked, sounding eager to be next to spar despite having a neutral expression.

"Patience now, Koneko," Rias said with a small smile. "You'll get your turn."

The group then noticed Issei and Kiba have stopped fighting. Both were now panting heavily as they kept eye contact with each other.

"Let's finish this with one strike, Kiba," Issei suggested as he cocks his bokken to his right side.

"Of course," agreed Kiba as he cocks his to his left.

The two then charged at each other with their speed abilities and got ready to strike. The fast movement of Kiba's Knight trait and Issei's Shunpo caused dust to protrude from the dirt due to the pressure of their feet.

By the time they got close enough to each other, they started swinging their swords in hopes to get each other defeated.

BAP! BAP!

The audience of the spar had surprised and amused looks on their faces when they witnessed how Issei and Kiba's spar concluded.

The boys had their bokkens struck at both of their stomachs. Issei's on Kiba's, and the latter's on the former's.

The two removed their wooden swords from each other and held onto their stomachs with their left hands, still feeling the pain caused by their strikes.

Issei took three steps back from Kiba, hissing because of the pain in his stomach.

"Damn, Kiba. You hit hard."

Kiba chuckled at the brown haired boy's compliment.

"Heh. Your attack was more painful."

Smiling, Issei drops his bokken to the side.

"Draw?"

Kiba lets out a chuckle as he too drops his bokken, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah. Draw."

* * *

 _ **~Training #2: Hand-to-hand combat~**_

After his spar with Kiba, Issei was now sparring with his kouhai, Koneko, in hand-to-hand combat. Since Rias, Akeno, Asia, and Kiba were doing training on their own, Yoruichi was the only bystander watching the two Devils duke it out with their punches and kicks.

During the spar, Yoruichi saw Koneko grab Issei by the wrist and spin around twice before throwing him towards a nearby tree. Before Issei's back made contact with it, he was able to lean his body forward and land on the tree on his feet with one hand on the trunk. He then landed back on the ground and sets his stare back on Koneko.

"Nice fall break," Koneko complimented with a noticeably small smile.

"Thanks," Issei said with a smirk. He then begins charging at her with his left fist cocked back. "But I'm only getting started!"

Before his fist could make contact with Koneko, she dodged to her left and appeared behind Issei. He was able to sense her, allowing him to jump in the air to dodge Koneko's sweep kick. While still in the air, Issei spun his body around and stuck his leg out to kick her in the face. But Koneko jumped away from him before his foot could hit her.

Issei landed on the ground after his spin kick and puts his guard up, waiting to see if she'll attempt to make another move.

Sure enough, Koneko decided to charge at him this time, prompting Issei to plant his feet on the ground and form an X from his arms in case she tries to hit him with a dive kick.

As Koneko got two feet closer to him, she cocked her fist back and aimed it for Issei's stomach. Seeing where she was aiming, Issei lowered his crossed arms to where she tried to punch him. This was immediately followed by Koneko retracting her fist from him and jumping in the air with her knees bent and legs tucked.

Issei widened his eyes in surprise when he saw Koneko fake out her punch. He snapped from his surprise and then looked up to see her aiming her feet towards his face. Luckily, he was able to dodge her two-foot kick by sidestepping, but did feel the left of her left foot graze his left cheek.

Issei then jumped back from Koneko and rubs his cheek while keeping his eyes on her.

"You slippery girl," Issei growled. "You tricked me."

"Of course I did," Koneko replied nonchalantly. "And so will those girls and other future enemies in your fights. You have to be prepared for any trick they have in their book."

Issei nodded his head, noting her advice in his head. He has seen those battles on TV where a fighter would fake their attacks so his/her enemy would be tricked into blocking the attack, allowing the warrior hit him/her where he/she isn't protected, and he figured he would have to put up with crap like that.

"Also," Koneko continued. "Try aiming more towards the center of your opponent's body and strike with precision at your victim's core."

"Hmph!" Issei plants his feet on the ground and brings his arms outward with his hands balled into fists and charge at her again.

While the two continued to spar, Yoruichi observed Issei's movements in combat, his offense, and defense.

'He's doing well on his defensive state. He's constantly shifting his eyes around to try and detect any possible move his opponent could make to throw him off.' He then saw him throwing punches and kicks at Koneko, with one of each only grazing her cheeks. 'And judging by Koneko's skill in combat, he's having a hard time trying to land a hit on her. Minus those grazes he made of course.'

Yoruichi briefly shifted his eyes towards the ground to make a mental note to himself and shifted them back to Issei and Koneko, letting a small smirk form from his lips.

'Looks like my time training him will be more entertaining.'

* * *

After five more minutes of sparring, Issei and Koneko decided to call it a day so the former can move on to training with Akeno and Asia on magic control.

During their stroll back to the mansion, with Yoruichi in between the two, Issei decided to start up a conversation with Koneko.

"I must say, Koneko-chan, for someone who can pack a serious punch, you can be pretty tactical too."

Koneko glanced at him for a couple of seconds and shifted her eyes back forward.

"It's nothing. We all have powers that are unique to us. If anything, you're the one with the tactician." she turns her head towards Issei. "You can also be a really hard worker too."

Issei lets a soft chuckle escape his lips while scratching the back of his head in slight shyness from her compliment. He then looks up towards the sky with his left hand on his cheek, and his right hand on his chin.

"Though, while you are very strong, I couldn't help but feel that you were holding back, even for a sparring match."

Hearing that made Koneko immediately stop in place, eyes sightly widened.

"Wha… What do you mean, Issei-senpai?"

Noticing the nervous tone in her voice, Issei puts his hands forward in defense while a faint light blush brushed his cheeks.

"I mean, no offense, it's just that judging by your Reiatsu, that wasn't all of the power you had. I just thought I'd throw that out there, that's all."

Koneko didn't say a word. She hung her head in what appeared to be shame, causing the bangs of her snow-white hair to cover her eyes.

Feeling worried about her, Issei placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, making her shoot her head towards him with a slightly surprised expression.

"Look, whatever is holding you back, you got us to help you out," Issei assured her with a smile. "If you're having any problems, make sure you tell, Buchou, Akeno-senpai, Asia, Kiba, or me about it. We're always there for you, and we'll help out however we can."

Koneko's eyes softened at the young man's kindness. She then turned her head towards the ground.

"Thanks," she muttered.

Issei nodded in response and continued to walk towards the mansion. When he got towards the door, he noticed that both Koneko and Yoruichi were four feet behind him.

"You two coming in?"

Koneko shook her head.

"I need some time alone for a while."

"You go on ahead, Issei," Yoruichi said to him. "I'll catch up with you in a moment."

Issei tilted his head at his Familiar's response, but nodded in agreement and went ahead inside.

After seeing him close the door behind him, Yoruichi turned his head towards Koneko, who was still looking down at the ground with a depressed expression.

"It's because of what you really are, is it, Nekomata?"

Koneko's eyes widened in shock and shot her head towards Yoruichi, who asked her that question.

"H-H-H-… How do you know what I am?" she asked as she took a step back from the black cat, shaking nervously.

"I've met plenty of them in my time, years before becoming Issei's Familiar." he replied. "It was easy to tell judging by the aura you're keeping at a low profile."

Koneko continued staring at Yoruichi with a nervous expression. Her body was shuttering at how he was able to tell what kind of Yokai she is, and that he called her a Nekomata.

Yoruichi sighed at the girl. "Look, if you're worried that I'm going to tell my Familiar master this, I'm not. I rather have him figure that out himself."

Koneko lets out a quick sigh of relief, but she was still nervous about how the cat knows what she is.

"Are you… a Nekomata yourself?"

"Indeed, I am," replied Yoruichi, surprising the white haired girl further. "After all, don't most Familiars take on a human form? That's the case for me."

Koneko then sat on the ground and tucked her legs behind her arms. Yoruichi moved closer to her to continue the conversation.

"Tell me, Koneko-san, what is it that you're afraid of?"

Koneko was hesitant at first, but since it was a fellow Nekomata, she began to slowly explain it to her.

"It's just… I don't… want to end up like _her_."

" _Her_?" Hearing this got Yoruichi interested. "Who do you mean by _her_?"

Again, Koneko was silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

"My older sister… I just… don't want to end up becoming crazy over Senjutsu like she did…" Koneko paused, tears threatening to leave her eyes, which widened in fear as flashbacks of her dark past playback in her mind, which didn't go unnoticed by Yoruichi. "After seeing her go insane by using it, I've decided that I won't _ever_ rely on that cursed power."

Yoruichi nodded his head after listening to Koneko's brief backstory. In a way, he understood why she didn't want to use Senjutsu, as it takes in the malice and ill will that floats within the world, making an amateur user of that power slowly go insane. He should know, because it took him three to four months to be able to use Senjutsu without the malice corrupting him.

Breathing a small sigh, Yoruichi got closer to Koneko and made eye contact with her.

"Listen, I won't pressure you, but hear me out. While I understand why you fear using Senjutsu, one way or another, you will eventually have to overcome that fear and train your Senjutsu until you have it under your control."

"But how will I be able to do that?" Koneko asked him with a hint of fear and worry in her voice. "How can I get control of this power without ending up like my sister?"

"I can help you train it."

Koneko did a double take at what Yoruichi said. After processing his words, her eyes widened while staring at the cat dumbfounded.

"Y-Y-… You can help me?"

"Of course, I have to get the greenlight from Issei after he finds out about what you are. After that, I'll be sure to help you with your Senjutsu and make sure you don't go out of control. And If I'm not enough to calm you down, then Issei, Rias, as well as your other friends, will help you too."

Koneko's eyes shifted downwards towards her feet, appearing unsure about Issei and Asia learning her true nature. Everyone else in Rias' peerage, along with Rias herself, knew she was a Nekomata, with the exception of Issei and Asia.

"Like I said, Koneko," Yoruichi continued. "I won't pressure, nor will I rush you into training in Senjutsu. Take some time to think about it." The black cat then smiles. "And if you're worried about my Familiar master and Asia berating you because of your cat features, then don't. I'm sure they'll still like you for who you are."

That last sentence made Koneko jump a little. Her eyes then softened as she taps her feet on the ground.

"Especially Issei," Yoruichi spoke again, followed by a laugh. "I'll bet he'll adore you when he sees you in your Nekomata form, him liking cats and all."

After hearing him say that teasingly, Koneko's face becomes flustered with wide eyes, followed by her burying her head in her knees in embarrassment, earning another laugh from Yoruichi.

* * *

 _ **~Training #3: Magic training~**_

After finishing up his talk with Koneko, Yoruichi made his way to the kitchen, where Rias told him that he'll find Issei and Asia being trained by Akeno in magic. By the time he made it to his destination, he found the three near a round brown table with two blue chairs. When he made his presence known to the Devils, each saying their hellos to the cat, he then walked to the nearest corner and sat there, watching Issei and Asia train with Akeno. Though, he was mostly watching his Familiar master.

"Alright," Akeno said enthusiastically, clasping her hands together with closed eyes and a happy-go-lucky smile. "It's time you both became aware of the aura and magic surrounding you and try to stream it to a focal point."

While Asia was nodding her head happily, Issei was looking at his right hand with narrowed eyes and a frown.

'Well, technically I'm aware of my black aura with white outlining. All I need to do is to figure out how to use and control it.'

"Visualization is the essence of all magic," Akeno explained, reverting Issei's attention back to her. "Let the image of light flow through you and be released as magical power."

After nodding in response, Asia began holding palms of her hands near each other and began concentrating on summoning magical aura.

As for Issei, he wasn't sure about exactly how to do that. If he tried to close his eyes and concentrate, his surroundings will turn cobalt and will see a series of Reiatsu flames roaming around, the red ones belonging to Asia, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Rias, and light blue ones representing normal people, so summoning magic power that way was scrapped, until he found out otherwise.

"I think I got it!"

Issei, Yoruichi, and Akeno turn to Asia to see that she has created a green ball of light from her hands, surprising the former two, while Akeno was happy for her.

"Awesome!" Akeno applauded. "Look at you go with little green light! I think you have a lot of natural talent for this, Asia!"

"Yeah, that's amazing, Asia."

Asia's face turns bashful with light red cheeks at Issei's compliment.

"Oh… Thank you, Issei-san."

Issei nodded with a smile in response to Asia's thanks. He then went ahead to try again on conjuring his aura by doing how Asia did it: place his hands in front of him with his palms four inches apart.

'Okay, Asia was able to do it this way, so I should be able to do it as well. Alright, here goes.'

Issei took a deep breath and began to concentrate on trying to make a ball out of his aura. Judging by the frustrated look on his face, how his body was shaking due to the struggle, and the fact that he kept at it for twenty seconds, he appeared to be having a hard time doing it.

'The only time his black and white aura appeared was unconsciously,' Yoruichi noted in his mind. 'And when his anger was at a certain level as well.' The black cat narrows his eyes. 'Looks like I'll have to help him get a more better feel on this when _I_ get started on training him.'

"Having a hard time, Ise-kun?"

Yoruichi was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Akeno begin to talk to his master and suddenly wrap her slender arms around the brown haired boy, making said boy jump at the sudden contact.

Asia was surprised with Akeno's actions, unsure how to respond to what's happened. Yoruichi however, was intrigued with the affection that Akeno is displaying on her face, with her sultry smile formed from her lips, her warm gaze directed at Issei, and the forward motion of her body, making her breasts press against his back. As for Issei himself…

"Um… Yeah…" he replied to her question with a shy tone and pink cheeks. "I kinda am…"

Akeno lets a cute giggle escape her lips as she traces her fingers on Issei's right hand, causing the latter to tense up and have his cheeks turn a darker shade of red.

Unbeknownst to him, Asia was giving off a jealous aura while a cute pout was on her face when she kept watching how affectionate Akeno was being to him, while Yoruichi was quietly snickering at the scene.

"Remember, it's all about visualization," Akeno explained. "Think about whatever you want and see it happen in your mind."

"Okay…" Issei said, still acting bashful since he can still feel Akeno's breasts on his back. "But is there any limit on what I can think about?"

"No, not at all," Akeno replied happily, continuing to stroke Issei's hand. "It can be anything you want. Just think about it, and then concentrate."

"Alright," Issei nodded in affirmative. "But… I'm gonna need you to let go of me… Please."

"Oh? Am I making you uncomfortable?" She asked him teasingly as she tightens her hug around his torso.

"N-N-No!" He replied almost immediately. "I just need some space so I can concentrate, that's all."

Akeno lets a playful pout form on her lips as she slowly removes her arms from him.

The young man sighed in relief after she took four steps back to watch him try again on conjuring his aura. Before he could begin, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Asia was staring at him with furrowed eyebrows and a pout.

Confused, Issei turns his head towards her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

Asia jumped with wide eyes upon hearing Issei speak to her and quickly looked away shyly while her cheeks were turning red.

"N-N-Nothing!"

Issei raised another eyebrow at her stuttered reply.

'What the Hell? Something was definitely up with her a few seconds ago.'

Not wanting to pressure her, Issei shrugs it off and placed his hands back in front of himself, his palms four inches apart.

'Alright, Akeno-senpai said that I could think of anything I want, and I have to see it in my mind in order for it to literally happen.'

Narrowing his eyes further, Issei processed his thoughts on what he wants to see in between his palms.

'I just want a ball of aura. That's all I want. I don't care what color it is, though I want it to be the aura that Ddraig told me about during my fight with Rika, a ball of aura is all I want so I can at least make some progress.'

Thirty seconds have past during Issei's concentration. After concentrating hard, Issei's eyes slightly widened when he saw a tiny black oval shaped aura take on its shape. After a few seconds of the aura spinning around, it suddenly expanded further into a ball that almost was the same size as Asia's green light orb, but a little bit smaller. While Issei was surprised at what he conjured up, what surprised him further was that a what outlining has now formed around the black ball, circling around it.

"Holy Hell!" Issei exclaimed, cracking a smile. "I'm doing it!" 'And it's the same colors Ddraig described in my aura too!'

While Asia applauded Issei's accomplishment, Akeno and Yoruichi had their eyes on the black ball of aura with the white circular outlining. Akeno was a little nervous, recognizing the colors and their patterns, while Yoruichi kept his eyes narrowed on the ball.

'There it is,' the cat said in his thoughts. 'it's _that_ aura.'

'Alright,' Issei thought. 'Let's see if I can make it a little bigger.'

Narrowing his eyes, Issei concentrated on making the ball bigger. Two seconds later, it did just as he wanted it to. The black and white ball of aura was now the size of a bowling ball.

Issei, as well as Akeno, Asia, and Yoruichi, were in astonishment when they felt the amount of power that was radiating from the ball.

'Amazing,' Akeno thought with wide eyes. 'This power… It could rival my own magical power.' Her eyes widen further as the black and white ball of aura grows slightly larger again. 'No way! The larger it gets, the more powerful Ise-kun's aura gets!'

Asia, not noticing the weird looks from Akeno and Yoruichi, had stars twinkling in her eyes with a wide smile at Issei's ball of aura.

"Wow, Issei-san! You're getting the hang of this!"

"Yeah!" agreed Issei with a confident smirk. "I just need to think of it, and there it is!"

Enjoying how easy it was, Issei decided to make his black ball of aura with the white outlining even larger, making it the size of a globe.

The reactions of the three bystanders were mixed. Asia was further amazed, Akeno started tapping her foot in nervousness, and Yoruichi's eyes widened with furrowed brows.

'This power in Issei's ball of aura's getting stronger and stronger every second!' the cat said in his thoughts. 'If he keeps this up, then-'

Suddenly, the group started hearing the pitter patter of feet rushing towards the entrance of the kitchen, directing their attention towards that area. Eventually, the source of the sound of running was revealed to be Rias, who was frantically breathing heavily and had a frightened expression on her face.

"What on Earth is going on here?!"

Rias then widens her eyes in shock when her eyes laid upon the black and white ball of aura in Issei's hands. Her body tensed up, blinking her eyes twice to make sure that they weren't playing tricks on her.

'That's… the source of this overwhelming power?!'

"Buchou! I-"

BOOM!

Suddenly, the ball of aura exploded in his hands. The explosion was the size of three hand grenades exploding as one explosion. The blast of the explosion was so powerful, it flew Issei backwards into a wall with a loud thud.

"My leg!"

After shouting that sentence in pain, Issei fell to the ground face first.

"Issei!"

"Ise!"

"Issei-san!"

"Ise-kun!"

The four ran to Issei's spot to check if he's alright. Asia got her Twilight Healing activated and went ahead on healing any injuries caused by his collision to the wall.

"Issei, are you alright?" Yoruichi asked him in concern.

"Yeah," Issei replied with a thumbs up towards the cat. "I've been through worse than that. Thanks, Asia."

"You're welcome, Issei-san."

After Asia finished up healing his minor injuries, Issei got up on his feet and sets his attention to Rias, who was still in surprise at what he did seconds ago.

"So, what's up, Buchou?"

Rias didn't respond to him. She was still in thought about the black and white ball of aura Issei had conjured up.

'It had the same colors, but its power wasn't as overwhelming as that skull…'

"Buchou?"

Rias snapped back into reality when she heard Issei call to her a second time. Letting out a deep breath, she looks at Issei while scratching the back of her head.

"Sorry, Ise. I just felt a power that felt like it belonged to a higher class being, but it turns out that it was just you and your ball of aura." A soft smile forms from her lips. "I was worried that you four were in danger, so I had to check. It's good to see that you're able to call forth your aura, Ise."

"Oh! Thanks, Buchou," Issei replied with a smile while scratching the back of his head. "It was a little tough at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly."

While the three Devils were talking with each other about what Issei did, Yoruichi kept his stare on Issei while having a thoughtful expression.

'Alright. Now that Issei can conjure his aura, all I need to do now when I train him is to teach him on how to weaponize it.'

* * *

 _ **~Training #4: Using magic for hobbies. Mostly cooking for this session~**_

Wrapping up the magic training, Akeno left the kitchen to continue training on her own, allowing Rias to coach Issei and Asia on their next training session: Using magic everyday tasks.

"Uuuuuugh," Issei groaned in frustration when he looked down at the pink apron Rias put on him, with Asia wearing a red one. "Do I _really_ have to wear this? You are fully aware I'm a dude, right?"

Rias giggled at Issei's misfortune while Yoruichi was laughing his tail off at the sight of him wearing the apron.

"Come now, Ise," Rias said with a wink. "I don't think it looks bad on you."

Issei was now glaring daggers at her, earning another giggle from the redhead.

"You damn Devil."

"So…" Asia began, getting everyone's attention. "Can we really use magic for hobbies? Even cooking?"

"Absolutely," Rias replied happily. "Magic comes in handy anywhere. For this lesson, you two will be cooking us all a tasty meal." She begins to walk away while waving her hand at the two. "Have fun, and good luck."

Issei, Asia, and Yoruichi, who was recovering from his laughter at his master wearing an apron, waited until she left the room, shutting the door behind her. After waiting a few more seconds, Issei looked down at his apron with his annoyed look still intact.

"Yeah, to Hell with this."

Without hesitation, Issei violently grabbed the pink apron with his left hand, tore it off his body, and threw it to the side. He then shot a glare at Yoruichi while dusting his hands.

"Tell Buchou, and I'll pull on your tail."

Yoruichi jumped at Issei's sudden words and started to chuckle nervously while sweating bullets.

"O-O-Of course, Issei. I w-wasn't planning on telling her you took it off from the beginning. Ha ha ha ha."

Asia brings a hand to her mouth while letting out a soft giggle at Issei's direction. Afterwards, she then took a look at the food and equipment Rias set up for them. On the counters lie fresh potatoes, onions, and other ingredients to make something tasty, and on the table lied an open metal pot full of water.

"Okay, let's give this a shot."

Asia decided to start with the pot of oil, approaching it and hovering her right hand to the top of the pot.

"Water, please boil."

As if listening to her command, the water in the metal pot started to boil, producing thousands of bubbles.

"Yay!" Asia cheered with a fist pump. "It worked, Issei-san!"

"Way to go, Asia," Issei replied with a smile and a wink, feeling happy for Asia's accomplishment.

"Well, Issei, aren't you going to try using your magic?"

Issei turned his head towards his Familiar while scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Y-Yeah, I am."

Clearing his throat, Issei grabbed the nearest piece of food, an onion, and stared at it with stern eyes. He then began to recall how Asia managed to make the water in the metal pot boil.

'Judging by watching Asia's actions, all she did was request the water to boil while concentrating her magic on her hand. So maybe it's kinda like how I summoned that explosive black ball of aura that had a white outlining.'

Issei then narrows his eyes at the onion in concentration.

'Right, here goes. I wish for this onion to peel perfectly.'

Issei concentrated as hard as he could on making his magic do as he wanted, and…

SHFF!

Issei, Asia, and Yoruichi widen their eyes when they saw the onion in Issei's hand suddenly peel, showing its green texture.

"Whoa…" Issei blinked his eyes rapidly at the onion, surprised at how easy he was able to magically peel the brown off with just magic.

"Hang on a moment."

Issei then went to grab a potato and did the same procedure he did with the onion, and two seconds later, it too had its skin peeled off perfectly.

Issei lets out a confident chuckle.

"It's that simple, eh?"

"Alright, Issei-san!" Asia applauded. "I knew you could do it."

Yoruichi nodded in agreement.

"I will admit Issei, while it looks as simple as peeling the skin of a crop, I'm glad you were able to do it."

Issei let's out a wide smirk with narrowed eyes.

"Alright then, let's crank this up a notch!"

Issei immediately aimed his open palms towards the first pile of onions he could lay his brown eyes on and used his magic to peel all of their skin off at once. He then started going "Woo hoo! Woo hoo! Woo hoo!" As he did the same procedure on a pile of potatoes. It was then rinse and repeat on the other piles of crops.

"Um, Issei-san?"

Issei didn't hear Asia call to him. He was too busy peeling off skins of onions and potatoes with a happy-go-lucky smile on his face for what seemed to be countless of seconds.

"Issei-san?!" Asia tried again a little louder, but he paid no heed.

"Holy Hell! Who would've thought that this would be so much fun?!"

"ISSEI!"

"What?"

Issei finally stopped what he was doing when he heard Yoruichi shout out his name. His eyes than widened as he found out why he got his attention. He scanned the entire kitchen to see the many skins of potatoes and onions scattered all over the floor, along with the many peeled crops resting on the counter, table, and deactivated stove. He then chuckled shyly while scratching the back of his head with closed eyes and a sweat drop after seeing his Familiar wrapped up in some peeled skin of onions and potatoes, almost making the cat look like a mummy.

"Heh heh heh… Sorry Yoruichi. I must've gotten a little carried away."

Yoruichi forms a pout from his lips while having narrowed eyes at the young man.

"Or maybe _too_ carried away? A-a-AAAACHOO!"

"Bless you," Asia said in the background as she saw the cat sneeze the peelings off of his nose. She then looked around at the freshly peeled crops. "My goodness, what are we going to do with all of these?"

Still chuckling shyly, Issei walked to closet saying: "I'll go get the broom." And he did just that, sweeping the peelings into a pile and throwing them away afterwards.

After shaking his body around to get the smaller peelings off of his back, Yoruichi looked up to Asia, getting the blonde's attention.

"Well, you two might as well get cooking with those ingredients. No point in letting them go to waste, right?

"Y-Yeah."

Issei and Asia went ahead to use the ingredients to the best of their ability, hoping that in the end, the food will taste great.

* * *

After finishing up cooking the amount of food needed for the Gremory team, the group and Yoruichi were now at the dining room, eating the dinner Issei and Asia prepared for them. Issei did most of the cooking while Asia made some dishes of her own.

After swallowing four bites of her food, Rias turned her head to Issei and gave him a warm smile.

"Wow, Ise. I had no idea you could be a fantastic cook."

Issei gives her a smile of his own while twirling one of his locks with his finger.

"Oh, it's nothing. Mother just taught me the basics for when I start living on my own, that's all. My cooking's not that superb."

He then turns to Asia and gives her a wink.

"Besides, Asia's pretty good herself. In my opinion, her cooking's far superior to my own."

Asia blushed at his compliment and poked her forefingers together shyly.

"Oh? You think so? Well thank you, Issei-san."

Issei nodded his head to her in response with closed eyes and a smile.

While the rest of the Devils were continuing to eat, Issei brought his right hand close to him and stared at it with observant eyes and a stern frown.

'While my combat skills are good, I still have yet to play around with my black and white aura. I was able to make it into a ball and make it larger at my will, but what else can I do with it.'

Issei then blinked twice and widened his eyes a little when he remembered what happened after Rias showed up.

'That's right! The aura blew up when I lost my concentration due to Rias appearing to see what was going on!'

Issei narrowed his eyes firmly at his hand as he now had a thought on what he could possibly do with his aura due to how explosive it appeared to be during his conjuring.

"Maybe I could use it for explosive traps, and possibly throw the balls of aura, using them as hand grenades, or something like that."

Issei didn't realize that he mumbled those thoughts until Koneko, who heard what he mumbled, looked at him with a curious stare.

"Did you say something, senpai?"

"Oh!" Issei shot his head up when he heard the Rook talk to him. "Don't mind me, I was just thinking to myself about some possible things I can do with my aura since I was able to get it into a ball."

Without his knowledge due to him scratching the back of his head with closed eyes, Koneko's eyes have widened in shock and worry when he mentioned his aura. She was worried for him because the aura he was talking about was the same aura that radiates from him when he's in an angered state. And she sure as heck didn't forget how the aura took on the form of a skull behind him, a skull she found to look suspiciously like the mask Rias confiscated from him.

"Hey, Koneko-chan? You alright?"

Koneko snapped back into reality when she heard Issei call to her. A surprised expression forms on her face when she sees that he has a worried expression aiming at her. Cheeks tinging light red, Koneko looked down at her bowl and picked up her spoon to continue eating her dinner.

"I'm fine."

Issei raised an eyebrow at how quickly she answered him. While deciding to keep quiet, not wanting to pry her about it, he was curious on why she looked worried for him.

'It's just my aura. Why did she look worried for a moment there?'

"So, Ise."

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when Rias began to talk to him, prompting him to set his attention on her.

"How did the training go? Did you learn anything?"

"Hmm…" Issei places a finger on his chin with a thoughtful expression. "If you're talking about combat wise, not really. All I know is to time your attacks, dodges, etc. correctly, check your surroundings cautiously, and think ahead, and you should be good."

He then sets his sights on Rias.

"But, what I'm fully aware of is that Asia won't be able to protect herself without having one of us by her side during the game. That's about it. To be honest, the sparring matches I had were just testing the combat skills I developed at age eleven."

"I see," Rias said as she took a sip of her drink. "But you do have a point, Ise. Since Asia has no experience in fighting, she will be an easy target for the Phenex Devils. Besides, Between her Twilight healing and your Boosted Gear, the two of you are our great assets. Your opponent will always be aware of this, so when things go to worse, it's best you make a run for it."

"Run?" Issei tilted his head left and raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. "Is it really okay to do something that the enemy will see as cowardice?"

"Don't think of it as a cowardly action, Ise. There's no shame in running from a fight you know you can't win. So when a time like that occurs, it's best you escape from any situation so you won't slow the rest of the team down."

Issei and Asia nodded to their master.

"Okay, makes sense."

Issei then looks down at the table with a stern expression.

'Besides, I'm the one who brought Asia into this world. Hopefully with strength I developed, and Yoruichi's training, however he's going to do it, protecting her and everyone else I care about from any kind of trouble should be a walk in the park.'

Issei's attention was suddenly brought to Rias when he heard her chair drag on the floor. Upon his eyes meeting her, he saw that she was standing, her plate completely cleaned. He then looked around to see that everyone else was done with their dinner.

"That was delicious and filling. It's time we head to the baths now. The baths are outdoors too, and they're so pleasant."

Issei blinked at Rias' declaration.

'Huh. I didn't know this place had outdoor baths.'

"Ise."

The young man's attention was now on the redhead Devil.

"What's up?"

"Would you like to come with us?"

Issei then suddenly jumped out of his seat and formed and X out of his arms, palms facing towards Rias.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Issei shouted with a shocked expression. "You're gonna have to be specific on that one! Are the baths mixed or something?! Is that why you're asking me this?!"

"Nope," she replied happily. "There's a girls bath and a boy's bath, and I'm asking if you'd like to come with us in the girl's bath."

Issei did a spit take at the specifics at Rias' request. Before Rias could continue, or before anyone could say something, he pointed a finger at her with furrowed eyebrows and shark-like teeth.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to bathe in the girl's baths!"

Rias and Akeno giggled at the sight of Issei's reply.

"Don't say that Ise," Rias said to her Pawn. "I don't mind if you see me completely naked while bathing." She then turned her head towards her Queen. "How about you, Akeno?"

Said girl giggled as she gave Issei a smile with closed eyes and a hand on her cheek.

"No, I think it sounds like fun." Opening her eyes, she stares at Issei with a sultry gaze. "Besides, I've always wanted to bathe with a bad boy~."

"UWAHAHAAHH!" Issei made a scared sound at her last sentence, hugging himself in fear of what she might do to him in the bath.

"Would you mind if he came?" Rias asked to Asia. "I wouldn't want any of us to feel uncomfortable."

"Oh no! I don't mind at all."

Issei palms his face and lets out a sigh of irritation.

'It's probably because of that one time she tried to get me to bathe with her, is it?!'

There was one more girl Rias needed to get approval of, and that girl was Koneko.

"What about you?"

Issei took a small breath of relief, knowing that she's a girl who doesn't like men seeing her naked. Because of that, he prayed that she'd refuse.

Yoruichi snickered at how his master was behaving.

'Who would've thought that a boy who appears tough can be _this_ shy?'

"I… I…"

Issei opened one eye when he heard his kouhai slowly stutter shyly. Her hands were folded on her lap, and her cheeks were as red as a cherry.

"Well? Go on, don't be shy," Rias encouraged Koneko.

"I… Don't mind!"

"WHAT?!" Issei squeaked as she heard Koneko's final answer, the latter of whom was also looking at Issei shyly when her default expression was usually neutral.

"It's fine…" Koneko continued. "He can come with us… As long as he doesn't try anything funny."

Issei puts his arms up in defense towards Koneko's direction. A shy expression was plastered on his face.

"Look, Koneko-chan, if you feel uncomfortable being in the same bath as me, just say it! I'm fine if you don't want me in there!"

Kiba quietly chuckles at the scene with closed eyes and a smile.

'This is better than daytime television.'

"You're too polite for your own good, Issei-senpai," Koneko argued, despite sharing the same shy expression as him. "It might slow us down in the Rating Game, judging by how most of the girls are dressed."

"I was about to say the same thing, Koneko," Rias interjected with a wink while wrapping her arm around Issei's right. "Think of this bath as a way to get use to female nudity, Ise."

Issei let's out a Josh Grelle scream at the situation he was now in. He tried to pry Rias' arm of of his, but was stopped by Akeno when she hugged his right arm, rendering both of them useless.

"Uh uh uh. You're not going anywhere~. Ufufufu~."

With that said, Rias and Akeno dragged the red faced Issei to the baths, with Asia and Koneko following them.

"Hey, Yoruichi, aren't you going to help him?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow. "He is your Familiar master after all."

The black cat lets out a laugh to the blonde Knight.

"As much as I want to, Rias does have a point about him needing to get use to seeing girls naked. So I'm not going to help him this time around. It's for his own good."

Yoruichi then turns towards the doors the girls and Issei let from and lets a smile form on his face.

'And judging by his reactions, I'll bet revealing my human form will be just as entertaining.'

* * *

The girls, plus Issei, were now in the girls' baths. Rias and Akeno were sitting next to each other, Rias' feet in the bath while Akeno was in it, Asia and Koneko were near the wall with the handheld shower heads.

"Aaah. This was such a good idea," Akeno said to Rias while wiggling her toes comfortably. "We haven't done this in forever."

Rias smiled at her Queen in agreement.

"I hope it melts away some of the fatigue of training at least. We've all been working so hard."

"Ufufufu~. I have no doubt that this will do the trick."

While the two women were continuing to have a conversation with each other, Asia looked on at the two with a frown for two seconds before turning her head back forward. She then looks down at her own breasts and sighs in disappointment.

"Sad you're not on the 'Double D' team?"

Asia jumped at the voice who talked to her and turned her head left to the source. She sighed in relief to see that it was just Koneko who spoke, who was washing her left arm with soap while having narrowed eyes and a frown.

Asia took a few seconds to think about the question she asked her and scratched the back of the head while giving her a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that."

Asia went to grab a bar of soap and proceeded to wash her body with it. When she got to her feet, she made a face of realization and turned her head back to Koneko.

"Hey, Koneko-san, You haven't seen Issei-san here by any chance, have you? I'd like to have a chat with him."

Koneko slightly widens her eyes when she started to remember that too. Issei was suppose to be in the baths with the girls under Rias' order, as well as with the approval of the other girls.

"That's right. Where is Ise?" Rias asked her Bishop when she heard her talk about the young man. "He _was_ suppose to bathe with us."

What they don't know is that Issei actually is in the female baths with them. He just decided to go to the farthest part of the bathroom in order to keep calm and not pass out from seeing them in the nude, breathing slowly so he could get it together. And just in case any of the girls tried anything, especially Akeno because of what happened between them last time, he wrapped his towel around his waist, covering his crotch area, and he made sure to wrap it around tight.

"Damn you, Yoruichi!" Issei cursed his cat Familiar quietly. "Why didn't you help me out back there?! Even if it is to help me from feeling nervous around women in the nude, I'm not ready for something like this!"

Issei took one last quiet deep breath and sat on his butt in the bath, feeling the hot water soaking his body. He then proceeded to open a bottle of shampoo that he was able to get a hold of and begins to apply it on his head. He then maneuvered his fingers around his hair, allowing the shampoo to foam all over it and clean it.

"*Sigh*. Well, at least the baths feel nice. The water's the right temperature, the structure of the bath itself is fascinating," he looks up at the night sky to see the stars and smiles. "And it's the right setting to take one too."

After two minutes of shampooing, Issei inhaled some breath and puffed his lips before dipping his head underwater to rinse it off, fingers locking in between strands of hair to get the tiny bits of shampoo off. Afterwards, he then began to rise from underwater to continue on relaxing in the bath.

 _Slide. Boing._

"Huh?"

Upon getting his head out from underwater, he made a puzzled face when he felt something slide up against his cheeks. He blinks twice as he can still feel the mysterious objects on them.

'Soft…'

Issei then raises an eyebrow in confusion as the spot he was sitting at started to feel different. He was about to ask himself what was up, but whatever question it was, was answered when he heard a familiar giggle from behind, and saw a pair of legs slide next to each of his legs, the left one next to his, and the right one next to his.

"Ara ara, so this is where you've been hiding~."

Issei's body froze in place and halted his breathing upon hearing that voice. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as they shifted left and right uncontrollably to discover to fleshy mounds on each of his cheeks. He then tilts his head slowly backwards to see who the woman was. When he did, his irises and pupils contracted when they lied upon a familiar black haired woman, who was smiling at Issei with glee.

"A-A-Akeno-smmpmi?!"

Akeno quickly covered his mouth with her hands when he started to scream her name.

"Shhhhhh! It's alright! I'm not going to hurt you."

Akeno could feel the heat of Issei's fast breathing on her palms, and she liked it.

Issei however was not doing so well. He could feel his heart beating rapidly due to seeing Akeno completely naked, nothing covering her whatsoever. Because of this, he kept eye contact with his senpai's violet eyes, trying his best not to look down at her bare breasts.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Why are you here?!" Issei asked quietly once Akeno removed her hand from his mouth.

"Ufufufu~. Rias sent me to come looking for you so we can socialize together, and help you with your fear of female nudity."

Issei looks away from her in embarrassment, his cheeks being as red as a tomato.

"I'm not scared of nudity. I'm just being respectful."

Akeno lets out another giggle while placing her hand on her cheek.

"But we're allowing you to see us this way, silly. So there's no need to worry about that."

Akeno then grabs Issei's face by the cheeks gently and makes him face her breasts, which were still wet from the bath water.

"UWWAAAAAHHH!"

"Go on, dear. Take a good look at my nipples~."

Not listening to his brain, Issei's eyes were focusing on Akeno's luscious breasts. His face was burning up with steam shooting out of his ears.

"Um um um, um, um, um,"

Akeno lets out another giggle at Issei's stuttering.

"Come now, Ise-kun. Even you have to agree that these boobs of mine are beautiful and irresistible~."

"C-C-Come on, Akeno-senpai!" Issei whined while shifting his eyes towards her smiling face. "This isn't funny!"

Akeno didn't listen. Instead, she was shifted her eyes on the bulge that slowly sprouted from behind the towel wrapped around Issei's crotch. She stared at the bulge with lust while licking her lips at the sight.

Issei noticed where her eyes were at and immediately covered his crotch with both hands. He then gave her a narrow-eyed stare and a pout.

"Aww," Akeno made a mock whine with a playful pout. "Not gonna let me have a peek? I think it's only fair since you got a view of my fully naked body~."

Issei's eyes slightly widened in shock at how perverted her tone was towards him.

" _Yup, she totally wants the D,"_ The chibi Issei said with a beady-eyed deadpan from the real one's X-rayed cranium.

"Ah, Akeno, you found him."

"Eh?"

Issei turned his head left when he heard another familiar voice. Upon turning his head, he lets out another Josh Grelle scream when he saw a smiling Rias, a blushing Asia, and a bashful Koneko, all of whom were in their birthday suits. While the former two were out in the open, the latter was hiding behind a rock, poking her head out with dark red cheeks, and Issei couldn't blame her for that.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Rias," Akeno apologized with a wink. "I was getting a head start on Ise-kun's mental training~."

Since she was distracted by the red haired Devil, Issei was able to escape from Akeno's grasp and jump back four feet from the Queen, looking away from the girls in the process.

Seeing this made Rias sigh and sets her eyes on her bashful Pawn.

"Come on, Ise. You've got to get use to seeing female nudity. You have seen what my attacks did to one of Sona's servants during our game of dodge ball with them, and what that green slime did to us, and trust me, the same thing will possibly happen in future battles; possibly in the Rating Game too."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Issei did not expect her to state this like it's fact. "You're joking, right?"

"Nope."

Rias' nonchalant reply made Issei face fault in the bath, causing the water to splash upon contact with it.

As soon as he got up from the face fault, he was immediately hugged from behind by Akeno, making him turn his face around to meet hers.

"No escaping. Ufufufufu~."

Issei lets out a wine in frustration.

"Ise," Issei's attention was now on Rias. "Please keep in mind that we're allowing you to see us naked. Being respectful to women when they're suddenly stripped is fine, but not only do you have relax when you're given permission, but you have to try and keep a level head when the enemy is suddenly stripped."

Issei's pupils contract at Rias' wording.

"Issei-san!"

Asia latched onto Issei's right arm with shut eyes and a dark blush.

"A-A-Asia?!"

"I… I know you're very nervous about this… But please, try to bathe with us!"

Issei didn't know how to comprehend the situation he was in. He was surrounded by naked women, minus Koneko, who was still poking her head out from the rock while staring at Issei with a shy stare. He was also feeling two pairs of breasts against his body; Akeno's on his back, and Asia's on his right arm.

" _Oh Lordy Loo!"_ the Chibi Issei shouted with his hands on his cheeks. _"At this rate, Issei's gonna pass out! Well, as long as Buchou doesn't get closer to him next…"_

To the real Issei's surprise, Rias was now next to his left. She smirked playfully as she holds onto Issei's arm, her breasts pressed up against it.

" _Oh crap! More skin-to-skin contact! I gotta help the real me stay conscious while I still can!"_

In Issei's X-rayed cranium, the Chibi version zipped towards a set of funky looking computers. With a look of determination, he began slamming his fingers on the keyboard violently, making it look like he was playing a pc game.

" _Come on, real me! Stay awake! Fight the urge to faint! Fight it! Fight! Fight! FIGHT!"_

"Ise," Rias called to Issei, getting his nervous attention. "Shall I wash your back for you?"

"Ufufufu~. Sorry, Rias," Akeno interjected, grinding her breasts on Issei's back purposefully with a sly smile. "I've already decided to clean his back for him."

Rias' eyebrow twitched at her Queen's declaration before coughing into her hand.

"Alright, then I shall wash Ise's chest then while you handle the back, Akeno."

"GAAAHH!" the red faced Issei screams as his two senpais touched his back and chest with soap. Unbeknownst to him and the girls, Akeno stealthily added soap on her breasts, so she was washing his back with both the soap in her hand, and her bust, only in tiny thrusts with the latter way so Issei wouldn't notice.

"Mouuuuuu! I want to wash Issei-san too!"

With a voice of jealousy, a pout, and dark blush on her cheeks, Asia lunged at Issei's right side while trying to get her hands on a bar of soap, surprising the three.

"Asia!" Rias shouted. "Be careful, you'll make us fall over!"

"Ara ara! Ufufufu~."

Asia didn't listen. She was too busy trying to get the soap so she could be able to wash a part of Issei.

Issei's face was flashing several shades of red. Due to Asia's struggles, the girls neglected to notice that their breasts were now rubbing onto the bashful Devil, on his back, chest, and arms. And since their flesh mounds were covered in soap, they were unknowingly washing Issei's body.

Koneko looked on at the scene from the background with a blush of her own. She was currently paying attention to her senpai, Issei, who was too scared to move a muscle due to how the scene looked like the three girls were playing tug of war with his body. She noticed that he looked like he was about to pass out due to how close Rias, Akeno, and Asia were to him while unknowingly washing him with their boobs.

"Maybe I should help him…"

"Um-um-um-um-um-um-um-um,"

The girls stopped what they were doing and turned their heads towards Issei when they heard him begin to stutter. They widened their eyes a little to see that his face was now as red as Rias' hair and that he had circular white eyes.

"P-P-P-P-P-P-PLEASE LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Those were his last words before he felt his consciousness slip away. The girls gasped when Issei fell backwards in the bath water with a splash. They also noticed that his towel mysteriously slipped off from his pelvic region. Curiosity getting the best of them, the girls shifted their eyes towards the towel and widened them when they saw something poking out from between Issei's legs.

"KYAAAH! Wh-Wh-What is that thing?!" Asia asked looking red in the face while trying to cover her eyes, failing miserably.

Koneko immediately got behind her rock and held her hands onto her cheeks with steam fuming out of her ears.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What did I just see?!"

"Ara ara, it's so big and lively~." Akeno stared at the thing with a dark blush and a perverted look while licking her lips, enjoying the sight of it.

Rias looked downwards with the same shade of red in her cheeks as her Queen's, fidgeting her hands and feet together after getting a mental image of what she saw.

"Wow… That's a man's penis?"

* * *

 _ **~In the realm of Issei's cranium~**_

" _SON OF A BITCH!"_ The Chibi Issei slammed his fist on a table while having a lit lighter in his hands due to the area he's in being too dark. _"He's fainted! The girls went to play tug of war with the real me's body and made him faint due to the soft, silky feeling of their boobies!"_

The Chibi Issei then face palms himself and breaths a very loud sigh of irritation.

" _Welp! Guess I'll have to wander around the darkness till he wakes up! Dammit all!"_

While keeping his lighter lit so he can see where he's going, Chibi Issei sets off to stroll around the real Issei's cranium while mumbling angrily to himself.

* * *

"I see… That's quite the story."

"Indeed, Sirzechs-sama."

In an undisclosed location, a handsome young man with shoulder length crimson hair and blue-green eyes called Sirzechs is sitting on his throne, talking with his Queen, Grayfia about what happened during Riser's visit in the human world, given the information about Rias deciding to have a Rating game against the Phenex Devil so she can "Escape" from him.

"Heh heh. That sounds just like my sister," Sirzechs says with a smirk and closed eyes.

"In my honest opinion, Sirzechs-sama, I don't think she has any chance of winning."

Sirzechs nodded in agreement with his Queen.

"No, that she does not."

Grayfia then raises an eyebrow at her King.

"And yet you're letting her and her servants train?"

"I let her make her own decisions," Sirzechs replied. "She's next in line to be head of the House of Gremory after all. I just hope that she's capable of at least that."

"As do I," agreed Grayfia. She then widens her eyes a little as she hears her master let out a happy chuckle.

"You know… Now that I'm remembering this, maybe she _does_ have a chance at defeating that Phenex bird."

"Whatever do you mean?" Grayfia asks in curiosity.

Sirzechs shifts his blue-green eyes towards her.

"That Pawn Ria-tan reincarnated. He's Issei Hyoudou, yes?"

Grayfia nods in response.

"Why do you ask? You sound like you know the boy."

"Oh, I just found out what he did to protect the human realm." Sirzechs waved a hand at her, brushing off her statement. "If I remember correctly, he was able to slay a Menos Grande Gillian class Hollow, despite him being a low-class Devil, and that it was his first time fighting those masked creatures."

Grayfia nodded again.

"Indeed. Lady Rias-sama had been constantly talking about the boy's achievement with pride in her voice." She then raises an eyebrow at Sirzechs. "But how does his accomplishment assure you that there's a chance Rias-sama will win?"

Sirzechs laughed at her question warmly.

"Well, the fact that Issei was able to kill A Menos Grande surprised me." The red haired Devil then narrows his eyes forward. "And I'm curious what other surprises he'll have during the Rating Game. That's all."

* * *

 _ **~Day 2~**_

"Uuuunggh…"

Issei's eyes flutter open as he awakens from his slumber. He then shoots them open and shot his head up off of his pillow, getting him into a sitting position on the bed.

"What the..?" Issei maneuvered his head around his surroundings to see that he was in his assigned room. He then sighs to himself, understanding how he got here.

"Dammit. I've passed out in the baths because of those three being too close to me."

Issei then slowly lifts his covers up and sighs another breath of relief to see that he's been clothed, but by who, was a question that made him feel nervous again.

'I swear, if it was Akeno-senpai, I don't think I want to know what she did to me while I was out cold.'

"Ah, Issei, you're awake."

"Huh?"

Issei turns his head right to see his Familiar, Yoruichi sitting next to his bed, looking up at him with his hazel eyes.

"Oh, hey Yoruichi," Issei greeted. "So… what time is it?"

"It's 6:30 in the morning," replied the cat. "You've been out for the rest of yesterday."

"I see," Issei said with a sigh, still remembering how the girls pretty much forced him to take a bath with them.

Issei then shoots a glare at Yoruichi.

"Why didn't you help me back there?! I know I need to get used to the female body, but not only was I not prepared, but it was with multiple girls."

Yoruichi sighs at his master's outrage.

"Forgive me, Issei, but it was for your own good. No offense, but the way you were acting when the girls got near you made you look like a wimp."

Issei growled at his Familiar with white eyes, shark-like teeth, and a tick mark.

"I ain't a wimp, I'm just very, _very_ shy, that's all!"

Issei then made a surprised expression when he played back Yoruichi's sentence.

"Wait, how did you know about what happened yesterday?"

"Rias told me everything," the cat replied while swinging his tail.

Issei let's out another sigh as he gets out of bed, walking towards the closet to get his gym jacket on.

"Anyway, I better get something to eat. After that, you can finally train me, yes?"

"Of course," Yoruichi replied with a nod. "But first, Rias is going to give you and Asia a lecture about the history of the three Factions before I can do so."

Issei nodded in response, but he then remembered something.

"Oh yeah. Exactly how are you going to train me? You did mention to me that you have a human form."

Yoruichi made a look of realization.

"Yes, that's right! I never bothered to show you my human form!" the cat chuckles at how he forgot to do that. "Well, better late than never, I suppose."

Yoruichi backs away from Issei to a corner where there's enough room.

"Ready Issei? I'm going to take on my human form right now. And I tend to stay in that form for the rest of your training for the Rating Game."

"Okay," Issei answered, sounding a little eager to see what his Familiar looked like in his human form. "Let's see it."

"Alright," Yoruichi said with a smirk. "Here it is: my human form."

POOF!

Yoruichi's body was now surrounded in a human-sized puff of smoke, blocking the view of his body. Three seconds later, Issei could see a silhouette of a figure standing in front of him. Issei blinked at the figure, waiting patiently to see Yoruichi's human form.

Finally, the smoke began to clear up a little, revealing parts of the body. Issei was intrigued to see that his human form had dark skin, and the body structure looked rather odd too him. He wondered why that was, but when more of the smoke evaporated, his question was answered when his eyes widen and jaw drops.

The figure was revealed to be a slender, well-endowed woman with hazel eyes, cat pupils, and dark purple hair that reached down her back. On top of her head were two black cat ears, along with a black cat tail sprouting from her tail bone.

"Ta-da!" A female voice shot from her mouth as she makes a cute cat pose while the remaining particles of clouds were covering her private areas.

Issei was left speechless. His mouth was opening and closing repeatedly like a fish out of water at the sight of his Familiar's human form until he tried to sprout out some words.

"Y-You're… Y-You're… YOU'RE A GIRL?!"

Yoruichi laughed at Issei's shock.

"Yup! That's right, Issei!" she replied happily while wagging her tail. "I've been a girl this whole time."

"B-But-How-I mean-why-wha-you… WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?!"

"What?" Yoruichi tilts her head to her right. "It should've been obvious, Issei. Haven't you seen my crotch area when I was in my cat form?"

Issei did a spit take at her question and shot his hands up in defense.

"Dude! You were a cat that can _talk_! Of course I didn't bother looking down there!"

Issei then notices that all of the particles of cloud are gone and widened his eyes with a blush when he got a good look at her naked front. Yoruichi saw this and let's a grin form on her face as she twitches her body upwards, purposely making her boobs jiggle.

"You like what you see, Issei~?"

"GAAAAHH!" Issei immediately turned away from her while his blush darkened to a shade of a cherry.

"You nut! Don't ask such a crazy question! I ain't a hardcore perv who wants to see a woman's breasts twenty-four-seven, you know?!"

Yoruichi lets out another laugh at her Familiar master's behavior.

"Come now, Issei," She says teasingly as she starts to walk closer to him. "I'm your Familiar, and we've worked with each other for about a week." When she got close enough to him, she wraps her arms around Issei's neck, making him flinch when he felt her bare breasts press against his back. "I don't mind if you get a good look at me in the nude. After all, You've seen my breasts and vagina," she moves her head closer to whisper in his ear. "And you have yet to see my ass~."

"!"

Issei breaks free from her grip and screams at the top of his lungs:

"WILL YOU PLEASE PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON?!"

* * *

Issei was now tapping his foot, facing the wall while waiting for Yoruichi to get fully dressed after demanding her to do so as her Familiar master. She was currently slipping on her gray hoodie as she already got on black short pants that reached past her knees, and an orange T-shirt.

"Okay, Issei," Yoruichi calls to him as she got the hoodie on. "You can look now."

Hearing the greenlight, Issei began to turn around, but did so slowly in case he thinks she's messing with him. When his body faced her, he lets out a sigh of relief when he saw her wearing the hoodie and black short pants.

"My goodness, Issei," Yoruichi starts, noticing his sigh. "When I said I didn't mind having you see me naked, I really meant it. You could've even watched me get dressed."

Issei's brow twitched at her last sentence.

"Can we not speak about that today?" he asked her as calm as he possibly could. "It's too early in the morning, man."

Yoruichi sighs before answering: "Sure." Her eyes then soften at him. "Sorry, Issei. I couldn't help it. You _really_ do need to get use to female nudity."

"You don't have to remind me," Issei replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "By the way, if you were a girl this whole time, then why did you sound like a man when you were in your cat form?"

"Oh? That? It's just a voice changer ability I taught myself to disguise myself from greedy Devils who only see me as some kind of trophy."

"Really?" Issei raised an eyebrow at her reason. "I assume those guys were full of shit and only cared about their status?"

"Yup," Yoruichi confirmed while nodding. "That's why I chose you as my Familiar master, Issei. You are a Devil who only wanted to protect your friends. You didn't care about your status, and you ain't one of those 'Oh, I'm high and mighty, therefore I deserve to have that' guys."

"Huh."

Stretching his arms upwards, Issei went towards the bedroom door to open it.

"Well, I'm going ahead to eat breakfast and learn more about the three factions. You coming?"

"Yeah, I am," replied Yoruichi. "I'm just going to stretch a while and get prepared for our training session. I'll be down in a moment."

"Okay then."

With that said, Issei went ahead to the kitchen to have his breakfast, closing the door behind him and leaving Yoruichi to get ready.

* * *

"Morning, folks."

The Gremory Devils, sitting at a round table, turn their heads to see Issei walking in their direction with a hand up greeting them.

"Ah, Good morning, Issei," Kiba greeted with a wave back.

"Issei-san!"

Issei widens his eyes a little when Asia suddenly got in front of him and bowed her head to him.

"Um… Asia..?"

"I'm sorry about what happened last night!" Issei blushed at her apology, understanding _exactly_ what she was talking about.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Issei says to her with his hands up, wanting to drop the subject as soon as possible. "Let's just forget about it and move on with training, alright."

Asia blinked at his immediate answer, but nodded in response nonetheless.

"Oh, okay."

"Hey, Ise?"

Issei's attention was now drawn to Rias while he took a seat in an empty chair.

"Yes, Buchou."

"Before we continue training, I'm giving you guys a lecture about the war of the three Factions. Then, I'll let your Familiar train you in your aura. I assume he already told you that when you woke up?"

Issei flinched when she called Yoruichi a _he,_ since he just discovered her true gender, but nodded in response, allowing Rias to continue.

"Good. Now then, let's begin-"

"Gooooood morning everyone~!"

Everyone blinks once when they heard an unfamiliar voice call out to them. Issei however, knew who this voice belonged to.

'Oh boy, here we go.'

Upon further inspection, the Gremory Devils, minus Issei, who had his face palmed in his hand, widened their eyes when they saw a beautiful dark skinned woman with hazel eyes and long purple hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a gray hoodie and black short pants.

"Who-Who-Who are you?!" Asia asks in surprise.

"Yes, that's right," Rias added with a glare. "Who are you and how did you infiltrate this area."

Yoruichi lets out a giggle while waving her hand up and down at them.

"Oh come on, Rias. You should know who I am by reading my aura."

Rias raised an eyebrow at her nonchalant answer, but upon further inspection, she makes a look of realization as she found out who she was after reading her aura.

"Yoruichi..?"

Rias turns her head right when she heard Koneko, who had a much more surprised look as the others, minus Issei, beat her to the punch.

"Yay!" Yoruichi cheered with a fist pump. "Someone's recognized me!"

While the Gremory Devils were in shock to see Yoruichi's human form and true gender, Issei breathes out an irritated sigh as he knows where this will go.

"Three… Two… One…"

"Issei-san!"

As if on cue, Issei turns his head towards a shocked, blushing Asia while having a deadpan.

"Your Familiar was female the _whole_ time?!"

Issei lets out another sigh, expecting her to ask something like that.

"I know, Asia. Trust me, I was just as surprised as you are."

"Oh, come on, Issei!" Issei makes a surprised expression with red cheeks when Yoruichi wraps her arms around his neck and places his head in between her cleavage, but not too deep to the point where his head is buried.

"You better get use to seeing me like this, bud. We are living in the same roof after all, me being your cute house cat~."

There were mixed reactions to Yoruichi cuddling Issei's head. Koneko and Kiba were surprised to see how much she likes him, Asia looked on at the scene with narrowed eyes and a pout, and Akeno watched the two while giggling.

'Ara ara, more competition~.'

"Ise…"

"*Sigh*. Yes, Bu… cho..?"

Issei started to tense up when he saw Rias glaring at him and Yoruichi while crimson aura was radiating from her body. Yoruichi wasn't fazed at all, and only saw this as amusing.

"You mean to tell us that your cat Familiar, Yoruichi, was actually a woman?"

Issei puts his hands up in defense.

"What the Hell are you getting angry about?! I _just_ learned that she was a girl! Cut me a break, dammit!"

Telling her this wasn't calming Rias down at all. Her aura continue to flare around her as she sets her glare on Yoruichi, who noticed and grinned at her.

"What's wrong Rias? There's no need to be jealous over a Familiar bonding with her master."

Rias' brow twitched at the woman's confident voice.

"I-I'm not jealous!" She defended.

"Oh? Then what's with the hostility towards me?"

Rias' fists tighten as the aura behind her dies down. She then takes a deep breath and looks at Yoruichi with calm eyes.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, sounding more calmer. "I don't know what came over me."

"Hey, don't sweat it," Yoruichi replied with a thumbs up and a toothy grin. "We all have our moments." She then lets out a chuckle. "I even had my own fun moment when I revealed my human form to Issei."

'Oh no…' Issei thought in worry.

"What do you mean?" Rias asked with a tilted head.

"Ha ha ha ha! His reaction was priceless!" Yoruichi laughed out loud while holding onto her stomach. "The way he screamed when I showed him my body since I haven't worn any clothes before being in my cat form! It was like it was his first time seeing a woman naked! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone held a flabbergasted expression when she explained that part.

'SON OF A BITCH!' Issei screamed mentally. 'She just _had_ to mention that part, did she?!'

"What?! N-N-No it wasn't!"

Rias immediately covered her mouth and blushed profusely when she realized what she said, earning a teasing smile from both Yoruichi and Akeno.

"Oh?" Yoruichi lifts her eyebrows up and down repeatedly. "Did something happen between you two before I came around?"

"Ara ara, I'm wondering that myself. Ufufufu~"

"COME ON GIRLS!" Issei screams with white eyes and a tick mark. "IT'S STILL EARLY IN THE FREAKIN' MORNING!"

* * *

After settling down from Yoruichi's shenanigans, Rias' servants are now seated at the round table while Rias gave them, mostly Issei and Asia, lectures about the three Factions, with Yoruichi leaning on a wall near the group, listening to the redhead's lectures.

"Good question," Rias said, beginning to answer a question both Issei and Asia had. "The answer dates back quite a bit, some say close to an eternity ago. Devils, Heavenly Angels, and Fallen Angels were at war."

Rias frowns before continuing.

"It was a massive, destructive, three-sided battle, which ultimately ended in neither victory, nor defeat. Every single battle fought ended with several of our members wiped out, or missing."

Issei narrows his eyes at the information given to him while staying quiet so the lecture can go on.

"Our lifespan, since Devils have their low birth rates, are nearly eternal to ensure our population. Yet, our existence as a species are at risk due to the impact of that war. Most of the family lines consisted of pure blood, upper-class Devils that made up what is known as the 72 Pillars."

Rias sets her sights on Issei and Asia before continuing from there.

"Due to the casualties of the war, only 34 of the Pillars remain; three of them, you and Asia know of: mine, the House of Gremory, Sona's, the House of Sitri, and Riser's, the House of Phenex."

She redirects her attention on everyone.

"It was then, that Devils first began recruiting humans to replace the numbers in their houses. After that, the Rating Game came about. This allowed Devils that were the masters of their households to provide recently converted humans with combat experience, as well as show off their own abilities. Nowadays, the games still has quite an impact. One's record in the Rating Game has a huge influence on their nobility and status."

Rias lets out a sigh after the lecture, feeling a little tired from speaking this long.

"Okay, I think that's it. Before we get back to training, let's have some tea."

"Sounds good," Akeno agreed with Rias as she stood up from her chair. "I'll go make it."

Asia turns to her direction and stands up next.

"I'll come help you."

"Hold on, Asia."

Asia's attention was now on Rias, who was smiling at her.

"Oh? What is it, Buchou?"

"Well, I'd love to learn more about your former life as a holy sister."

Asia makes a confused expression with a finger on her chin.

"You mean right now?"

"Oh no, not right away," Rias replied. "Let's wait for Akeno to get back with the tea before you talk about it."

"Oh. Okay then."

* * *

After Akeno came back to the group and served them and herself some tea, Asia went ahead in front of the group with the supplies she needs to begin her talk about the equipment, with Yoruichi taking her empty seat next to Issei while wrapping an arm around his neck with a smile, much to Rias' dismay.

"Let's see," Asia began as she was facing the Devils and Yoruichi. "I did a lot of exorcisms, so I guess we could talk about that. There are two things you need to perform one."

Asia reaches her hands towards a glass bottle of water with a glass cap keeping it sealed, which had a fake glass cross decorated on the cap, and presents the bottle to the group.

"The most important one is Holy Water. But Devils need to be careful when they're around it. It's vital that you never touch it."

"Will it mess up our skin, like how acid would?" Issei asks with a tilted head and a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it will do something bad."

Issei sighs at her small answer.

"I figured that much. Why leave out the more detailed stuff?"

"It isn't just us, it's for you too, Asia," Rias interjects. "You're a Devil now, remember?"

Asia fiddles with her fingers while looking down at the bottle of Holy Water.

"Yeah, I know. I guess there's no point in talking about how to make it. So I'll move on to something else."

Asia places the glass bottle back on the table and then picked up a brown book, presenting that item to them next.

"The second item is the Holy Bible."

Asia looks down at the Bible with a sad look.

"I used to read it constantly when I was little. It was my favorite. But now, every time I try to read a single verse from it, I get a terrible headache, and I can't get through it."

"Because you're a Devil," Rias says bluntly with closed eyes and a smile.

"You're one of us now, Asia," Kiba added with a smile of his own.

"You should write it down," Koneko suggested with a blank stare.

"Ufufufu~. Probably not a good idea," Akeno says to the three.

Asia makes a whining sound, getting everyone's attention.

"I just wanna read one verse! This one was my favorite out of all of them!"

She then skims through the pages to find said verse and stops when she found it, only to feel her head getting zapped when she started reading it.

"AAAAAAHHHH! I didn't even start yet!" She closes the book and bows her head. "Dear Lord, please forgive my inability to read your words. I promise, I've tried." She opens it back to the verse she wanted to read and attempts to try again.

ZAP!

"GAAAAAHH! Why do you hate me?!"

She keeps trying again, and again, only to feel the same results in her head.

Issei and Yoruichi look on at her, feeling sorry for the poor girl.

'If it were any other Devil, I'll bet they'll wave the white flag right away,' Issei says in his thoughts. He then looks upward towards the ceiling. 'Though, I'm able to be off the hook when I say "Lord" in a way, like "Good Lord" this and "Thank Lord" that, I wonder how I'll react when I try to read it?' He thought about it for a while, but then shook his head afterwards. 'Nah. I doubt I'll be immune to heavenly words printed on paper.'

* * *

Issei and Yoruichi, in her human form, are now on a field in the woods, looking at each other with neutral expressions, with the rest of the Gremory Devils watching the two from a safe distance. Issei brought his two swords with him as requested by his Familiar since she told him that there will be training in that department too. The Scale Blade was sheathed on his left hip, and the large sword was on his back.

"Alright, Issei," Yoruichi began while cracking her fingers. "You ready to put that aura of yours into good use?"

"Of course," Issei replied with a stern expression. "I've been ready for quite a while now after I was able to morph it into a ball."

Yoruichi giggles with a grin. "Alrighty then. But I have to remind you, I'll also be training you on hand-to-hand combat, and with swords, so it won't be solely on using your aura."

Issei takes a moment to look down at his right hand and grip it into a fist before looking back at Yoruichi.

"So, how are we going to start this?"

"Simple, buddy," Yoruichi replied with a finger pointing upwards. "I want you to start off by conjuring up a ball of your aura for me."

"Okay," Issei says with a raised eyebrow as he places the palms of his hands close to each other. "How big do you want it to be?"

"Not too big," she answered. "I'll let you know when to stop."

Issei nodded his head and then shifts his eyes towards his hands, focusing his magical power on calling forth his black and white aura. After a few seconds, the aura appeared in between his palms and started morphing into a small ball. It was purely black at first, but it eventually had a white outlining form around the ball.

The Gremory Devils watch in amusement as they witness Issei's black ball of aura with a white circular outlining around it. Rias and Akeno look at it with stern eyes, seeing the aura as something recognizable, since they saw it radiate around Issei's body when he was angered. Asia looked on with stars in her eyes because of how amazing she found his ball of aura to be. While Kiba was amazed with the aura being able to form into a smooth ball, Koneko was worried for her senpai because of her recognizing the same exact shades of black and white the aura had. After seeing what it previously did back when Riser and his servants were at the club room, and remembering the incident back with the stray exorcist, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

Issei continued to make the ball of aura bigger until Yoruichi halted him with a hand, making it about the size of a golf ball.

"Alright, that'll do."

Issei nodded in understanding and stopped his focus on making the ball grow.

"Okay, Issei," Yoruichi continued with a stern stare. "I want you to make sure you keep it that size as I instruct you on what to do next. But before I do, do you notice anything different?"

Issei raised an eyebrow at her question, not quite understanding what she meant by that.

"Well, if you're talking about it not exploding in my hands like that other time, then yeah, I guess you can say that. Also, it feels more easier to conjure up my aura like this."

Yoruichi nods her head with a serious expression.

"The first part you mentioned was because you got distracted when your master showed up when she felt how powerful your aura was when it was the size of a bowling ball. As for how it's more easier to conjure it up, well… I'm not quite sure about that. I guess you're unique and you're a fast learner."

Issei gives her a blank stare with a sweat drop.

"Gee. Thanks."

Yoruichi then places her hands on her hips as she sets her stare on the ball of aura.

"Alright, now what I want you to do next is to try and hold it in one hand."

"One hand?" Issei asks, sounding unsure. "Which one?"

"Any hand will work, Issei. Now, give it a try."

Issei took a deep breath before he chose his right hand to carry his aura on. He started off by slowly rotating his hands clockwise, making sure the palms are still facing it. After getting his left hand on top of the ball, and his right hand on the bottom, he begins to slowly remove his left hand off of the ball while keeping his right hand at its bottom. He was sweating bullets, fearing that the ball will explode as soon as his left hand left it.

Once he removed his left hand from the ball of aura, he was surprised to see that it was still intact.

Seeing this made Yoruichi smile at the young man.

"There ya go! You just have to focus on your aura and power, and nothing negative will happen!"

Issei let's out an uneasy chuckle as he stared at his ball of aura floating on his right palm. Curiosity getting the best of him, he tried moving his hand left and right to see if the ball will follow, and sure enough, it did.

"Damn," Issei says with wide eyes. "I didn't think it would be this easy."

"Alright, Issei!" Yoruichi calls out, getting his attention for him to see a toothy grin on her face. "Now that you've got that under control, try throwing that ball of aura at a tree."

"Eh?" Issei made a confused expression when she instructed him to do that. Seeing the confusion in his face, Yoruichi winked at him with a thumbs up.

"Go on. Trust me on this."

Issei raises a brow at her before sighing a breath.

"Alright then."

Issei chose the farthest tree from him and Yoruichi, a tree that's not too far, but far enough so no one can get hurt, and see what would happen to the ball when it made contact with said tree. He then sticks out his tongue as he cocks his right hand back, ball of aura still in his palm, and threw it at the tree. He, Yoruichi, and the rest of the Gremory Devils watch on as the ball began to travel towards where Issei wanted to throw it at. It was moving at the same pace that an actual ball would travel when it was thrown.

When the ball of aura made contact with the thick tree, it first drilled into the bark. The ball of aura then exploded like a bomb, blowing the tree up in half. The top half landed on the bottom half and remained there for two seconds before the top half flopped over to the ground with a loud thud.

The Gremory Devils watching the training session jumped in surprise when they saw what Issei's ball of aura did to the tree.

"Whoa!" Kiba exclaimed with wide eyes. "His aura just blew that tree in two!"

"Ara ara!" added Akeno with the same surprised stare as the Gremory Knight.

Rias just looked on at the training session between Issei and Yoruichi, amazed to discover one of the capabilities of her Pawn's aura, while Asia stared at the sight with shock visible on her face.

Meanwhile, Issei looked just as surprised as anyone else when he saw what he did.

"That… was amazing!"

"Yup!" Agreed Yoruichi happily. "But that's not all your aura can do, buddy! If you train with it well enough, not only can you conjure that ball up with one hand, but you can also use it for laying traps. You can even condense your aura into your swords and other objects you hold in your hands."

Issei was surprised at the new information on his aura his Familiar gave him.

"Wow. I had no idea you'd be so knowledgeable on using aura, especially my own."

Yoruichi gave him a smile and a wink.

"But of course. I've learned to weaponize my own aura myself, and use many cool techniques with it."

Issei lets out a chuckle while scratching the back of his head.

"Alright, then!" Yoruichi shouts as she jumps up and down and moves her shoulders in a circular motion. "It's time we move on! Since you were able to easily grasp throwing your ball of aura like a grenade, I'm going to raise up the difficulty a little."

"Oh? How so?"

Yoruichi then gets into a fighting position, surprising the brown haired boy.

"Listen up, Issei! If you want to learn how to do those other fancy abilities that I've mentioned with your aura, I want you to keep making those explosive aura balls until you're able to to so quicker, and be able to conjure it with one hand too. No Boosted Gear allowed."

Issei blinked a couple of times at Yoruichi's conditions on what he had to do in order to move on with the advanced uses of his aura. He then lifts his hands in front of his face. He narrows his eyes and tightens his fists, feeling motivated to unlock more of his potential.

"Alright then," Issei says as he conjures up another ball of his black and white aura. "Let's do this."

* * *

 _ **~Timeskip; Days 5; nighttime~**_

Issei has finished up another session of training with his Familiar, Yoruichi. During the previous sessions, including today's, he's slowly improved on conjuring his aura into a ball to a point where he cold do as fast as he did three days ago. He can also conjure the aura with one hand too.

He was also taught how to set up traps with his aura by touching an object, planting a Gremory symbol on it and disappearing afterwards. And when he snaps his fingers with the hand he used to plant those traps, the symbols will appear again and a charge of his aura will explode like a remote detonating mine. This trick took a while for him to perfect since it required him to learn a spell that seals his explosive magic, but he was able to get it down in a day.

For the next part of his training, which took place in the later half the third day since the first half was testing on his explosive traps, Issei and Yoruichi sparred with each other so the latter could see how he would do in a battle with his new abilities. During their spar, Issei was having a hard time keeping up with her due to how fast she was in her movements. All he could do so far was block her attacks, and even then, it still hurts when he blocks her due to how strong her attacks are.

On the fourth day, the two started sparring with swords. Yoruichi mostly made him use his Scale Blade for this part of training because she wanted him to use the sword's capabilities due to the weapon being made out of small sharp blades in the size of a dragon's scale. To make the spar difficult once he got use to using the trick weapon's ability to dig into and grab onto rubble, and it's ability to destroy certain swords by the tips of the blades, the small swords she used were the toughest metal ever made, making it near impossible for the Scale Blade to break them into bits.

During this part of their training, Issei has steadily improved on his speed, agility, and his senses have sharpened, after getting used to seeing Yoruichi travel in a speed faster than his own, even faster than his Shunpo.

Speaking of his Shunpo, nothing has changed much on its speed. It was relatively the same speed as when he first unlocked the ability during his previous battle with the Hollows. If anything, he improved on his timing with using the technique, and he's able to enhance his Shunpo to the point where he can attack and block faster.

Nighttime fell. Issei's eyes flutter open when he was having a hard time trying to sleep. Because of this, Issei decided to get a glass of water to drink, in hopes he can sleep a little easier.

But first… He had to escape from Yoruichi's grasp and make sure she's still asleep. Ever since she revealed her human form to him and his friends, she took that chance to cuddle with him whenever it's time to go to sleep and be ready for the next day. And to make matters worse for him, she mostly places his head in between her breasts in her sleep, which made it difficult for him to sleep at first, but he somehow got use to it and fell asleep afterwards.

To escape for a drink of water, he had to move very slowly to get out of bed because of how sensitive he thought her breasts would be, since he had to get his head out of them. Next, he wiggles around like a worm slowly and quickly replaces his body with his pillow so Yoruichi would still hold onto something and not wake up. He then waited for a while to see if she'll still be asleep after doing all of those procedures. To his relief, she was still asleep, nuzzling her face onto the blanket he placed in her arms while purring up a storm.

Issei went ahead and tip-toed his way downstairs towards the kitchen, slowly but gently closing the bedroom door behind him, not making a sound.

As soon as Issei made his way to the kitchen, Issei grabbed an empty glass cup and filled it up with water from the sink. He then proceeds to drink out of the glass, chugging every last drop of water. He pours himself another drink of water and drinks that amount again. Satisfied with the two drinks, he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, puts the glass cup in the sink and begins to make his way back to his room.

"Ise? You're still up?"

Issei blinks in surprise when he heard the voice of Rias call to him and turns his head towards the direction of the voice. Upon seeing her, he noticed that she was carrying a black book that looked like a journal, and was wearing circular glasses, and a pink night gown that he mentally thanked that it wasn't revealing.

"Oh, Hey Buchou. Yeah, I guess I'm having a hard time falling asleep."

Rias lets out a giggle and smiles at her Pawn.

"Good timing. Will you come with me? I need to chat with you about something."

Issei slightly widens his eyes at his master's request, but decided to comply.

"Oh, okay, sure."

* * *

Issei and Rias have made their way to the column and entered the building. As soon as they did that, Rias sat down behind one of the pillars and crossed her legs in front of her while adjusting her glasses.

"Um, Buchou?"

Rias sets her attention to Issei when she heard him start to speak.

"Yes, Ise?"

"I've been meaning to ask, what's up with the glasses? Do you need them to read certain text, or something like that?"

Rias giggles at his question.

"No. I just wear them because they help me think clearly. I guess I've been living in the Human Realm for too long, huh?"

Issei let's out a gentle chuckle while sweat dropping.

"I… don't think that would be the case…"

After getting that out of the way, Rias went ahead and talked to Issei about why she called him here.

"Really? That's your plan?" Issei asks her after hearing everything she had to say.

"Yeah, it is," she answers with a sigh while staring down at the pages of her book. "But it's not a very good one, I'm afraid. According to this manual, We still have a lot to worry about."

"How can you say that?" Issei questions with a perplexed look. "Judging by how you look, you must've been working your ass off!"

Rias lets out another sigh while pushing her glasses back on her face.

"While I understand where you're coming from, keep in mind we can't control what the opponent will do." She then narrows her eyes while scratching her feet together. "Besides, our strategy isn't the only thing we've got to worry about."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's Riser," Rias answers with a bitter tone in her voice. "Their last names: Phenex is appropriate for them too. While he is a Devil, he's also a Marquis counted among the 72 Pillars. We've got our work cut out for us."

Rias closes her book and places it down to her right side before giving Issei her full attention.

"His ability is the same as the beast his family is named after: Immortality."

Issei widens his eyes in surprise at this new information.

"What the Hell?! Is that even allowed?! How is this even possible?!"

"It just is," Rias replies, understanding the young man's confusion. "He's indestructible. He regenerates immediately after suffering a fatal injury. Riser's win/lose ratio is eight to two. However, those two losses were accepted out of respect for a family he's close to. In other words: he lost on purpose against them."

"Damn," Issei says in astonishment.

Rias continued from there.

"Ever since the Rating Game was put into affect, the House of Phenex has dominated the playing field. They always had the highest scores. Hmph! Can't say I'm surprised." Rias began to hit the sides of her feet together while having a frustrated look on her face. "How are you suppose to lose if you're immortal?"

Issei lets the newly found information sink in. But then, he widens his eyes after remembering what he and Yoruichi did during their break time from training, and looks at Rias with a confident smirk, confusing the latter.

"You've got nothing to worry about, Buchou."

Rias was taken back at his sudden words, not expecting that to his response.

"Huh? What do you mean by that."

Issei let's out a chuckle and crosses his arms while keeping his smirk intact.

"What you said about the Phenex Devils isn't entirely true. While they _can_ regenerate after receiving a devastating attack from their enemy, it doesn't make them entirely immortal. They can still die. After all, they _are_ Devils, aren't they?"

Rias widened her eyes after hearing such words come out of her Pawn's mouth.

"How… How can you be so sure of that?"

"Hmph! When Yoruichi and I take breaks from our training, we agreed on using that time to, dare I say, get a closer look at our enemy."

"What have you learned?"

Issei chuckles again before giving her the answer.

"Well, let's get the obvious out of the way, since they're Devils, there's no way they can regenerate after being attacked by a Holy power, so they can't be resistant to light. Also, they have something that I have no doubt that they'll use in the game in case they _do_ underestimate us: Phenex Tears."

Rias becomes surprised again at the information he dug up.

"Phenex Tears? You mean the expensive medical liquid that can heal _any_ injury, including severed limbs?!"

"Yup," Issei answered with a nod. "And if I were to guess who's going to use it, I think they'll be given to the Yakitori Bird Brain's Queen, who I believe is called Yubelluna, judging by her fairly high Reiatsu and, well, she's a Queen."

Rias narrows her eyes at her feet while scrunching her toes.

"You may be right, Ise. I would do the same thing if _I_ were given Phenex Tears."

"Hey, what's with that face?" Issei asks, noticing how stressed she looks right now. "Like I told you, you've got _nothing_ to worry about. Now that I've found their exploits, and learned that they're not _entirely_ immortal, I can use that knowledge and beat down on that man whore until he's out cold."

Rias widens her eyes again at the determination in Issei's voice.

"B-B-But… Even if you do know their weaknesses, he'll still regenerate!"

"Then I'll keep beating the shit out of him," Issei counters, surprising her again. "Like I said, I'll keep at him until he's out _cold_. I'll show that bastard that just because he's 'immortal', it doesn't mean he can't die, and can't be defeated."

Issei then gently places his hands on her shoulders, making the latter's cheeks tinge an unnoticeable pink.

"You're freedom is on the line, Buchou. And I refuse to have that taken away from you just because of how 'important' this forced marriage is to the Devils! If you want my opinion, reincarnated Devils, including myself, are the reason the Devils are still living on!"

He removes his hands from her shoulders and slams his right fist into his heart, giving Rias a serious expression.

"Let me make this vow. I, Issei Hyoudou, your ultimate Pawn, will do whatever it takes get you out of your marriage with that Yakitori prick! I promise that on my life, Buchou!"

Rias looks on at her Pawn, eyes beginning to soften at hearing him make such a vow. Despite the Phenexes' reputation, and their impressive regeneration properties, she was amazed that Issei was still willing to fight in order to set her free. She places a hand to her chest, feeling her heart beating as she had his vow in playback in her mind, making her tear up at his determination.

Issei noticed the look she was giving him and started to act a little shy, scratching the back of his head and sweat dropping.

"Sorry, that was pretty cringe worthy, wasn't it?" He asks her, feeling embarrassed after making the vow. "To be honest, I never planned out the exact words for the-"

Issei paused his talking when Rias suddenly grabbed his head. What she did next made Issei widen his eyes with a dark blush.

"Uh… Buchou..?"

Issei's head was now buried in Rias' Bosom. Usually, he would freak out a little and let out a quick squeal, but since Yoruichi always places his head in between her own breasts while sleeping, he started to get use to it. Kinda. He was still flustered at the fact that she placed his head in between her fleshy mounds, despite her being clothed.

When Issei used his eyes to look up to her face, he was surprised to see Rias smiling at him with softened eyes and tears threatening to roll down her cheeks.

"Thank you, Ise. Thank you so, so much."

Issei blinks once. Then twice. He then allowed her to keep his head in her cleavage to keep her happy, knowing that she was now quietly crying. But she wasn't crying in sadness, she was crying in joy to have such a motivated servant.

To make her feel a little more better, he wraps his arms around Rias and got in a comfortable position with her until she stopped crying.

"Not a problem, Buchou. Not a problem at all."

* * *

 _ **~Timeskip; Day 10~**_

Today was the last day for Rias and her servants to train for their upcoming Rating Game against Riser Phenex. Since everyone has worked so hard for the battle, Rias decided to use that time for her and her servants to have a rest period. But, not everyone wanted to use that time to relax.

The only people who didn't use that time to relax were Issei, and his Familiar, Yoruichi. Issei has gotten so far with his aura, and he was learning something new with it back in the sixth day, and he wasn't going to quit now just because it's the last day.

It was now 6:00 PM. The Devils, minus Issei and Yoruichi, were currently sitting together at a table drinking tea and eating snacks.

"So… Buchou…" Koneko spoke up, breaking the silence from the Devils. "Do you think we can win this after all of the training we did?"

Rias gives her Rook a smile with softened eyes.

"Well, after all of the training we did, I'm sure it'll pay off."

"Huh," everyone turns to Kiba, who had a slightly surprised stare on Rias. "You seem more confident than usual, Buchou. Did something happen?"

Rias lets out a giggle as she directs her attention to her Knight.

"I guess you can say that I've been given hope, Kiba-kun."

"Eh?"

BOOM!

Before Rias could get a chance to clarify, everyone jumped when they suddenly heard a loud explosion from outside.

"My goodness! What on Earth was that?!" Asia asked with her hands on her cheeks.

"Ara ara! So loud!"

Upon further inspection at a window, the group look on in shock when they saw a large cloud of black aura with a white outlining.

"Oh! That's Issei-san's aura!" Asia exclaims in astonishment.

"Come on guys," Rias says to the group. "Let's go and check on him."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and followed Rias towards the woods, where Issei and Yoruichi were training.

* * *

By the time they got to their destination, The group stumbled upon an area in the woods that was clouded from view by Issei's aura.

"Ise! Is everything alright?!"

Rias called to Issei, hoping that he isn't badly hurt. Fortunately, she was able to get an answer of sorts when the black and white aura started to evaporate, allowing the Devils to get a good view at what's going on.

What they saw left them speechless.

"Ise..?"

[Play music: Bleach OST: Battle Ignition]

Six feet in front of them, stood a serious Issei Hyoudou. He was missing a shirt, had torn up long pants, and he was bruised up with blood stains on his bottom lip and forehead from what appeared to be a very harsh training session. He had his Scale Blade in his right hand, and his large sword in his left hand, which didn't have his Boosted Gear on.

"Yo."

While Kiba was in astonishment, The girls, and even Koneko, blushed when they started to stare at Issei's naked upper half.

His upper half has become quite muscular after spending eight days training with his Familiar, having well developed pecks, a six pack, quads, and calves. They weren't too big, but were a fair enough size to show that Issei has been working hard.

"Rias."

Everyone's attention was drawn away from Issei's body when he heard a familiar female voice call to her from behind Issei.

Walking in view was Yoruichi, who had a serious expression and stare aiming right at Rias, getting the latter's attention.

"He's ready."

Rias made a look of surprise when she said those two words to her.

Issei turns his head towards Rias and gave her his trademark smirk of confidence, making her blush again.

"We got this, Buchou."

"Issei."

Issei shifts his eyes towards Yoruichi when he felt her place a hand on his left shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Your newly found power and magic moves will be critical to win your master's freedom. Trust your comrades. But more importantly, trust yourself."

Issei nods to her in affirmative before shifting his serious stare back at the other Devils, getting their attention.

"Listen up, guys. Buchou's freedom is on the line tomorrow. While I trust myself, I'm putting my trust in _all_ of you to do as much as you can to prevent that Phenex bird from making her life a living Hell, and win this Rating Game. Can I trust you all to put up a good fight?"

"Of course, Issei-san!" Asia immediately answered with a hand on her chest and a motivated expression. "I'll be there for you all until the very end!"

Kiba steps forward and places a fist on his chest.

"As Buchou's Knight, I will become her sword and slay any foe that dares to deceive her and my friends!"

"Let's kick some chicken ass," Koneko says with a slight fist pump and determined eyes.

"Ara ara, such a strong tone~. Ufufu~. We're totally going to win this, you strong cutie~."

While Issei's face remained serious, his cheeks did turn red from Akeno's answer.

He then gives his friends a smile.

"Alright! Let's get ready for this game tomorrow, and claim our victory!"

"Right!" Everyone shouted except for Yoruichi, who smiled on at the scene before her, and Rias, who looked at her Pawn with an astonished look in her eyes.

As the five Devils walk their way towards the mansion for refreshments, Yoruichi elbowed Rias on her shoulder to get her attention.

"You should be proud Rias," Yoruichi tells her. "He's come a long way."

Rias stared at her with slightly wide eyes for a few seconds before smiling at Issei's Familiar and stare on at Issei himself.

"Yeah. He really has gotten stronger. And Judging by the tone he used back there, he would make a great High-class Devil."

Yoruichi lets out a chuckle.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Rias."

[End song]

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's note: Hello again folks! I hope you all had a Happy Foolish Easter yesterday. Get it? Since it was both April Fool's day, and Easter this year? Huh? Huh? … I'll show myself out.**

 **Anyway, with spring break starting today, It FINALLY gave me some free time to actually get back to work on writing this story, with SOLs coming up later on in the coming months (Help me!). And when that time comes, don't expect me to write anytime soon because of those tests, and what I believe is called: the W!SE test coming up for me very soon.**

 **So, the Devils got their training done in ten days, with Issei starting to be able to use his aura as explosive traps, and a hand grenade (Which to be honest, I don't think I'm gonna make him use that often), and a secret technique Yoruichi taught him during the day skips. Issei even got to take a bath with the girls, which as you can see… didn't end so well. The girls even got a good look at his junior. Too bad Issei doesn't know this. Poor guy. And to add insult to injury for him, it turns out Yoruichi was a girl (Which isn't much of a surprise for anyone else :P), and now the girls in his harem will have to put up with her hanging out with her Familiar master in ways the girls want to with our protagonist. And now, feeling as confident as ever, Issei and crew are ready to compete in the Rating Game and win Rias' freedom from that Yakitori Bird Brain.**

 **Now then, I'd also like to take this time to thank you all so much for 413 favorites and 467 followers. Holy crap! I did _not_ think I would make it this far, since this is my first fanfic, with more I have yet to write as temporary one-shots. Seriously, thank you all from the bottom of my heart, I'm really grateful for your support, despite me taking forever to get new chapters out. :)**

 **Next chapter: _"Let the games begin! Gremory vs. Phenex!"_**

 **Issei's current Harem (in no order): Tsubaki, Akeno, Rias, Asia, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubasa, Reya, Ravel, Isabela, Siris, Karlamine, Mira, Marion, Aika, Murayama.**

 **Until next time folks!**


	14. Chapter 13: Let the games begin!

_**Before we begin:**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

" _Intercom; flashback scenes & quotes; Chibi Issei"_

 **{Ddraig speaking from the Boosted Gear and in Issei's Dream world.}**

 _ **{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement.}_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own High school DXD nor any other elements used in the story. Please support the official release. Thank you.**_

 _ **Right, moving on!**_

* * *

Chapter 13: Let the games begin! Gremory vs Phenex!

Issei was sitting quietly on his bed back home, waiting for the time where he and Asia were to report to the Occult Research club room to get ready for the Rating Game that begins tonight. Sitting next to him, was his Familiar in her human form, Yoruichi, her arms crossed under her bust while looking at her master with confidence.

His attire for the game, which was suggested by Yoruichi, was a gray, short sleeved hoodie with his Deadpool T-shirt underneath, and brown short pants that ended past his knees. For his weapons, he brought his Scale Blade and large sword out of their shinai bags and has them sheathed, Scale Blade on his left hip, and the large sword on his back.

"So, Issei," Yoruichi began, breaking the silence between them. "You think you can win this."

Issei lets out a small laugh and turns to her.

"Of course. What kind of question is that? After all of the training we've done, we can't possibly fail."

Issei then reaches his right hand for his alarm clock and looked to see that the time was 10:25, PM. He sets it back on his desk, seeing that it was not yet time to go.

'Only five more minutes until the Rating Game starts.'

folding his hands together, Issei played back a memory of the final hours of their last day of training.

 _~Flashback~_

 _Rias: "The House of Phenex has_ no _respect for us! Let's give that bastard Riser a taste of how strong the House of Gremory_ truly _is! They will receive_ no _mercy from us!"_

 _~Flashback end~_

After remembering those words, Issei looks down towards his left hand and balls it up into a fist with narrowed eyes.

'I've been training for this game like my life depended on it! With my new found power, and the info I have about the Phenexes, there's no way in Hell we're going to lose!'

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Issei and Yoruichi turn towards the former's bedroom door when they heard two knocks from it.

"Come in," Issei announces, giving whoever was behind the door the green light to enter.

Upon the door opening, it was revealed to be Asia, who was wearing her Holy Sister outfit like she did when Issei first met her, albeit she wasn't wearing her veil.

"Oh!" Asia makes a noise when she noticed that Yoruichi was in the room with him in her human form. "I didn't know you were in there with him. I'll… go ahead and give you two privacy."

"Oh no, please, have a seat," Yoruichi insisted, patting the open spot on Issei's left. "The more, the merrier."

"Oh! Well, okay."

As Asia made her way to the open spot on the bed, Issei finally notices Asia's outfit.

"Haven't seen you wear that in a while," Issei told her, making Asia blush a little.

"Well, I thought wearing it would make me more confident," Asia explains as she takes her seat next to Issei's left. "Buchou said she was okay with it, as long as I felt comfortable. So, what do you think about it?"

Issei gives Asia a soft smile and a warm look in his eyes, making the latter blush at this because of how comfortable the color of his eyes made her.

"I think you look beautiful with that on. In fact, seeing you like this is pretty nostalgic."

Asia smiles as she rests her head on Issei's shoulder.

"You're sweet, Issei-san. Can I… Stay with you two like this for the rest of the time we have left?"

"Of course you can," Issei answered, his smile still intact.

"Like I said, the more, the merrier," Yoruichi repeated in agreement, making Asia's smile widen.

Issei then makes a look of surprise when he saw Asia wrap her arms around his left arm. Her grip on it tightened every second.

"Asia? Is everything alright?" Issei asks her, noticing that she was now frowning.

"Yeah… I'm just a little nervous about the battle, that's all. I mean, as long as I still have you and the others with me, I know everything will be fine. So… If it's okay with you, I'd like to stay like this for a while."

Issei's eyes soften at the Bishop as his smile widens.

"Sure, Asia."

Hearing that made Asia smile at Issei and snuggle onto his arm, waiting for the time to come where they have to report to the club room.

Yoruichi looked on at the two with a smile on her face. She was happy to see that her Familiar master was making Asia feel comfortable and have confidence in her friends to win this game.

 **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

Issei pushes the button on his alarm clock to silence its alarm, seeing that it's now 10:30. He stood up from his bed, getting Asia and Yoruichi's attention.

"Let's go," Issei instructs Asia. "It's time."

Asia nods her head in response and follows Issei towards their next destination, with Yoruichi following from behind.

* * *

[Opening song: Bleach Brave Souls intro]

* * *

The Gremory Devils and Yoruichi were sitting patiently for Grayfia to arrive and take them to the arena for the Rating Game. Kiba was on the sofa, sheathing his Holy Eraser and setting it in front of him, Koneko was on the opposite couch, putting on her fighting gloves that had a pink cat paw print on each glove's back side, and Rias and Akeno were quietly drinking tea.

'Damn,' Issei thought in slight surprise, who was sitting on the couch Kiba was sitting at next to Asia, with Yoruichi standing on his right. 'Buchou doesn't even look worried about the game.'

The group then heard the sound of doors opening and closing and turned their heads to see two familiar guests.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting."

"No, please, come on in, Sona and Tsubaki," Rias says to them. "We're glad you can make it."

"Huh?" Issei made a puzzled look at the Devils of the Student Council. "Why are they here?"

"There's a live broadcast of the Rating Game so family members can watch. Sona and Tsubaki are here to help out with that, and watch the game as well."

"Huh." Issei makes a sound of interest while resting his head on the hilt of the large sword in front of him, making Tsubaki soften her eyes at the boy in the background without anyone noticing, finding his position cute.

"And besides, it's her first Rating Game," Sona added. "I wouldn't miss an event like this for anything."

Rias smiles at her friend.

"Well, I promise to do everything in my power to make it interesting for you."

While the two were chatting, Issei raised an eyebrow at how Sona and Tsubaki didn't notice his Familiar in her human form.

"In case you were wondering," Yoruichi began to whisper in his ear. "They know about my true gender, and that I'm your Familiar. You got nothing to worry about."

Issei made a look of surprise at her.

"How do they know that?" he asked her quietly.

"I talked with one of them while handing out your fliers in my human form."

Issei sweat drops at her answer with beady brown eyes.

"Seriously?"

From behind Sona and Tsubaki, a silver transportation circle has formed on the floor, getting everyone's attention. Coming out of it, was the maid of the House of Gremory, Grayfia, who sets her stare on the Gremory Devils.

"It's almost time," Grayfia informs them. "I hope you're ready for this, Rias-sama."

"Yes," Rias replies while nodding. "We're ready when you are."

Hearing this allowed Grayfia to continue.

"In a few moments, we'll use this magic circle to transport you and the rest of your servants to the battlefield."

"Um, where exactly is the battlefield?" Issei asks with a tilted head.

"In a neutral alternate space created just for the games," Akeno answers him. Issei then tenses up a little when her smile widens while she places a hand on her cheek. "Because that it's not real, we have full license to do some damage, even burn it to the ground if we want~."

Issei shakes nervously as she giggles happily.

"Was that last part _really_ necessary?"

"Tsubaki and I will be in the Student Council broadcast room calling the game," Sona informs Rias. "We'll be cheering you on." Sona then smirks at her Queen. "And I think I know who Tsubaki will be cheering for the most."

Tsubaki jumped with wide eyes and a dark blush when she heard her master tease her.

"Wh-Wh-What are you trying to get at?!"

Sona lets a chuckle escape her lips as she pushes her glasses up and makes her way out of the club room, with a shy Tsubaki following while taking a brief glance at Issei, who noticed the glance, but was confused on what Sona just said.

'Who's Tsubaki going to be cheering for in the game'

Issei's cheeks then turned an unnoticeable shade of pink when he made a guess from judging the glance she gave to him.

'Maybe it's me?'

While he was flustered at that possibility, Yoruichi quietly snickered at how her master was behaving right now.

"I wish you good luck on your first Rating Game, Rias," Sona says while standing near the door with Tsubaki.

"Thanks, Sona," Rias thanked. "Just try to keep the play by play fair."

"Oh, I'll keep it clean," she assures her, turning her head back to her friend while Tsubaki opens the door. "Though, if I was a betting girl, I'd say you guys are gonna beat that scumbag seven ways from Sunday."

Rias smiles at her bet while watching her and Tsubaki exit the building.

"There's something I forgot to tell you, Rias-sama."

Rias directs her attention to Grayfia when she heard her talk to her.

"What is it?"

"I thought you'd like to know that the great Devil, Lucifer, will be watching the game."

Rias has a surprised look on her face, but then narrows her eyes towards her desk.

"I see… Brother dearest…"

Issei widens his eyes in surprise at his master's response.

"Hold up! Are you saying what I think you're saying?!"

"You've heard it right, Issei," Kiba answered. "Buchou's brother is indeed Lucifer, the king of the Devils."

Issei and Asia become shocked at the news.

" _The_ Lucifer?!" Issei asks. "The king of the entire Underworld is your elder brother?!"

Rias nods her head in confirmation.

"That's correct."

"His name is Sirzechs," Kiba continues. "Although, historically, he's been known by many names. During the great war of the three Factions, our leader died. Sirzechs took over the throne and lead us through a dark time. He saved the Devil Kingdom from ruin."

"Wow," Asia says in amusement. "That explains why Rias is the next heir of the Gremory."

"Holy Hell…" Issei looks down towards his large sword after taking in this new information. 'To think that she would hold such responsibilities.'

Everyone then noticed that a red magic circle has appeared in front of the door that leads in and out of the club room.

"It's time, everyone," Grayfia announces.

Rias stands up and looks towards her servants.

"Let's go everyone!"

"Right!" Everyone, except Grayfia and Yoruichi says in unison.

Issei then turns to his Familiar.

"What about you? Are you coming?"

Yoruichi shakes her head at him.

"I'm actually going to where Sona and Tsubaki are to watch you guys kick some ass. Since Familiars aren't allowed for combat in this game, and are only for setting traps, I don't have any other choice."

Yoruichi then sticks out her fist in front of Issei and lets a smirk form from her lips.

"Make me proud out there, buddy."

Issei stared at her fist for a couple of seconds and smirked back at her, giving her a fist bump before heading towards the circle with his team.

"I won't let you down."

The group were now standing at the circle, waiting to be transported to the arena, while Yoruichi began to make her way towards the Student Council room to watch the game with Sona and Tsubaki.

Before Grayfia can transport the Devils in the field, Issei had a quick question that he needed to ask the maid.

"Excuse me, Ms. Grayfia?"

Grayfia's attention was now on Issei.

"Yes? What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Issei issued her his question.

"The Phenex Tears. How many can each piece use?"

Everyone, including Grayfia were caught off guard at his question. Before any of his comrades could ask him anything, Grayfia went ahead to answer.

"They are only allowed to use two bottles per Devil. Why do you ask?"

Issei shifted his eyes downwards while keeping a mental note of this rule in this Rating Game. He then sets them back on the maid.

"That's all I need to hear."

Grayfia wasn't sure on what he meant by that, but nodded anyway and transported the Gremory team to the arena.

After she did her job, she still couldn't get over why Issei asked her such a question, followed by his response when she answered it.

"Issei Hyoudou… What could you be up to?"

* * *

By the time the Gremory Devils were transported to their home base of the arena, Issei and Asia gained confused expressions when they checked their surroundings.

"What the..?" Issei wasn't sure what to think of the situation. "We're still in the club room. Did something mess up?"

" _Your attention, please."_

The group stopped and listened when they heard Grayfia's voice from what sounds like an intercom.

" _Welcome, Everyone. My name is Grayfia Lucifuge, and I'm the maid for the House of Gremory, and Queen of Sirzechs-sama."_

While Grayfia was speaking in the intercom, Sona, Tsubaki, and the newly accompanied Yoruichi, can be seen sitting at the table of the Student Council, watching the Gremory Devils.

" _I will be your referee during tonight's Rating Game. To create the battlefield you'll be competing in, I took suggestions from both Rias-sama and Riser-sama. You may recognize this place as it's an exact replica of Kuoh Academy, an educational institution in the Human world."_

Issei and Asia widen their eyes at this information.

"Wait, what?"

"Take a look outside, Ise."

Heeding Rias' words, Issei and Asia move towards a window and open its doors. What they saw next surprised them further.

Instead of the familiar blue or black colors, there was now a deformed bright green sky.

"Holy Hell!" Issei exclaimed, praising how amazing the texture of the sky was in his mind.

"This is an alternate space," explained Kiba. "It may not look like it, but trust me, we're not in school anymore."

Issei and Asia stared on at the sky in amusement after taking in Kiba's information.

"Well, at least we know were in the game."

" _Each team has been given an area that will serve as their home base. Rias Gremory-sama, your team will be in the Occult Research club headquarters in the old school building."_

 _ **~At the real Student Council Building~**_

"Tsubaki, show me Phenex."

"Yes, Kaichou."

With a twirl of her finger, Tsubaki displayed the screen where it captured Riser and his servants' home base.

In the screen, Riser can be seen sitting on a chair with his feet propped on the desk. On his right, his Queen, Yubelluna is cuddled up against him, smiling suggestively while Riser was fondling her left breast, making her blush.

While Yoruichi was disgusted with the man, she was intrigued to see some of his servants rolling their eyes at his actions, especially the servant with blonde hair and a pink dress. Then out of the right corner of her eye, she noticed that Tsubaki wasn't paying attention to them. She was actually keeping her eyes on the screen that displayed the Gremory team. Or more specifically, the camera that had Issei on it.

Seeing that made Yoruichi quietly snicker to herself while having a wide grin on her face.

'Hee hee. I figured she'd have a crush on him when I told them who's Familiar master I belonged to, judging by her reaction when I said his name.'

" _Riser-sama's home base will be located in the principal's office in the new school building. In order for Pawns to promote, they must make their way to the home base of the opposing team. Good luck to all."_

* * *

 _ **~Gremory team base~**_

"Alright, so how are we going to do this?" Issei asks the group while gripping the hilt of his Scale Blade with his left hand. "We can't just charge in there like raging berserkers."

"You're right, we can't," agreed Kiba. "Odds are, Riser's gonna want to move his Pawns into our territory right away, so we need to keep enough players nearby to make sure that doesn't happen."

Issei nods his head at him.

"Yeah. I agree."

Issei then felt his hoodie being tugged at and looked to see that it was Koneko.

"What's up."

In response, Koneko presented him a small pink orb in her two fingers.

"Uh… Thanks?" he says unsure, after taking the orb from her.

"These will help us communicate during the battle," Rias explains before placing her communicator orb in her left ear.

"Oh!" Issei understood. "That's kinda clever."

The rest of the Devils went ahead and put their communicators in their ears. After doing so, they hear a loud noise.

GONG!

" _Alright, Devils. Let the game begin!"_

It was at this moment that everyone, minus Asia, have put on their battle faces.

* * *

 _ **~Riser's home base~**_

"Those failures don't deserve to stand on the same field as us!" Riser says to his servants. "Show no mercy! Break their spirits! Shatter their pride, and force them into submission!"

Riser then narrows his eyes angrily.

"Especially to that Pawn brat who dares to mock me!"

* * *

 _ **~Rias' home base~**_

[Play song: One Punch Man OST: Hero Society]

The Gremory Devils were now looking at a map of Kuoh Academy, planning a strategy to win the game.

"The enemy base is just across the way," Rias says to the group. "Cutting through the school grounds might be quick, but it's not an option."

"They'll see us coming a mile away," Koneko added.

"Correct," agreed Rias. "And we might as well be sitting ducks."

Issei decides to give his opinion on the matter.

"Perhaps if we go through the track field and sneak in the back, then we might have the element of surprise on our side."

"That's the most obvious entry point available," replied Rias with narrowed eyes at the map. "And Riser knows this." She points to the area of the map that says "Club house". "My guess is, he'll station a group of Knights or Rooks with strong mobility right behind the athletic club house."

"That doesn't leave us with many options then, does it?" Akeno asks her.

"Doesn't seem that way," Kiba agreed.

While the group was thinking, Issei studied the map very closely until he could think of a clever strategy. It took him ten seconds to get what he hopes is to be a good idea.

"Oi, why don't we secure the gymnasium first?"

Everyone turned to Issei's direction when they heard him make that suggestion. After he got their attention, he points his finger towards the gymnasium area of the map and looks there with a serious expression.

"Not only is it adjacent to the enemy's home base, but it's not too far from us. Chances are, it'll serve as a diversion to the Phenex birds."

Akeno bent forward towards the map to get a look at the gymnasium.

"Now that you've mention it, the gymnasium's basically in the center of the battlefield. Whoever gets to it first, is gonna have a leg up for sure."

"Good call, you two," Rias says to Issei and Akeno. "Given the options we have, that's our best chance." She then turns to her Rook. "Koneko-chan, do you think you can handle getting into the gym and locking it down?"

Koneko nods in affirmative.

Issei then feels Asia cling onto his right arm, making him turn his head towards her to see if she's alright.

"All of this talk about fighting is starting to scare me," Asia tells him.

"Don't worry," Issei assures her with a smile. "We've got Rias to help. All we need to do is trust her, and our comrades, and we'll be fine."

Asia looks up to Issei and smiles at him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Everyone then turns to Rias as she stands up from her chair.

"To do that, we need to secure our defensive perimeter. Kiba and Koneko, get out there and set some traps in the woods, asap."

"Got it."

"Cool."

Koneko then sets her hands in front of her with her palms facing towards the ceiling.

"Let's go, Shiro."

Upon her command, her white cat, Shiro, appeared before her hands and crawled its way to the top of Koneko's head.

"Nyan!"

"Well, wish us luck, guys," Kiba says to them before the two head towards the exit of the club room.

"Nyan! Nyan!"

"Huh?"

Everyone's attention was now brought to Koneko's familiar, who was meowing at Issei while swiping its paw up and down towards him.

Issei blinked in confusion at why the cat was behaving like this. But he started to realize the reason when he saw Koneko approach him while looking away with a ghost of a blush.

"*Sigh.* You don't have to tell me, Koneko-chan," Issei tells her. "I think I know what Shiro wants."

Blushing, Issei closes his eyes and bends his body forward towards the cat. After he did that, he can feel Shiro's nose grind up on his face while hearing the cat purr.

"""Aww~! So cute~!"""

Issei blushes a darker shade of red when he heard Rias, Akeno, and Asia coo at Shiro nuzzling his face. He turns his head towards them with a pout and furrowed eyebrows while making sure to pet Shiro on the head.

"Come on, you guys! Now's not the time for that!"

After appeasing the cat, Koneko went ahead with Kiba to set up the traps. Once Rias calmed down from loving the sight of a cat nuzzling her Pawn, she sets her serious stare on her Queen.

"Akeno, next we'll need your expertise. When they're done setting up the traps, your illusion magic is going to come in handy, so be prepared."

Akeno bows to her master in response.

"I'll be waiting for the signal on that."

Akeno then heads out of the club room to get in position, leaving only Rias, Issei, and Asia left in the room.

[Song end]

"So, what about me and Asia?" Issei asks Rias in curiosity. "Is there anything we can do?"

Rias sets her sights towards the two.

"Asia, you're my healing support, so in order to keep you safe, you need to stay close to base. If we lose you, we're going to be in big trouble out there."

"Okay."

Rias then makes her way towards a sofa and sits down on it.

"Ise, come here."

"Eh?" Issei wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. "What do you need?"

His question was answered when he saw her pat on her lap with a smile.

"I want you to put your head on my lap."

While Asia was surprised at the order Rias gave her Pawn, Issei however, stared at her with a beady eyed deadpan and furrowed eyebrows.

Seeing this made Rias giggle.

"Now what's with the face, silly?"

"Oh, don't mind me," Issei says in a mocked tone, his beady eyes still intact with a small red tick mark on his forehead. "I'm just a random fella who's still trying to figure out the logic of a healing procedure, that I will _not_ go into details on in case there are kiddy Devils watching, how a peck on the forehead gives me additional stamina, and is now trying to figure out how a lap pillow will help me out in this Rating Game. Don't pay _any_ attention to ME!"

Rias lets out another giggle while covering her mouth with her hand.

"Come on, Ise. Quit complaining and rest your head on my lap."

Not having a choice, Issei sighs in defeat and sits on the sofa next to Rias. He then lies his head down to his right side on Rias' lap, ready for however this is going to go.

Though, he had to admit, the lap pillow did feel nice and surprisingly comfortable to him, he still wasn't sure why Rias would give him a lap pillow.

BA-BUMP!

"!"

At that moment, Issei started feeling a surge of power flowing within him.

'What is this..?' Issei wondered in his thoughts. 'I feel as if I'm floating in a calm realm of space… And… My body… It feels as if I'm being injected with some kind of additional power…' He then deadpans to himself. 'Probably like that stamina kiss, except better, or something like that.'

"What's wrong Ise?" Rias asks him while smiling down at him. "You seem to be having a mix of emotions."

Issei widens his eyes when he hears his master talk to him. Seeing the teasing smile on her face, he closes his eyes with a pout while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Like I said, don't mind me! I'm still trying to figure out what benefit I get out of this!"

Rias laughs at Issei's pouting face.

"Oh, Ise. You're so silly sometimes."

While Rias was giving Issei a lap pillow, Asia looked on at the scene with a jealous stare and a cute pout on her lips.

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

"HA HA HA HA HA! This is golden! Rias giving my Familiar master a power up via a lap pillow! That is really amazing!"

Sona sweat drops at Yoruichi when she sees her laughing at the scene that was presented in the TV screen that showed the club room.

'I'm not sure if I should feel bad for Hyoudou-san having her as a Familiar, or not.'

Meanwhile, Tsubaki looked on at the scene between Rias and Issei with a conflicted expression on her face. She then looked down towards her lap and blushes a light shade of red.

'Maybe I can do that too…'

* * *

After staying in this position for two minutes, Issei blinks when he felt Rias' hand remove itself.

"Ise."

Issei looks up towards Rias when he heard her call to him.

"I casted a little spell on you. It's time to unlock it."

"Eh?" Issei was confused when she said that. "What do you mean?"

* * *

Outside in the woods of Kuoh Academy, Koneko's Familiar planted another of the many traps she and Kiba were to plant. After Shiro did her job, she hopped back onto Koneko's head, making her nod to Kiba.

"Right, onto the next one."

* * *

After seeing the two set up the traps necessary, Akeno summoned her Familiar on her left hand and sent it towards the sky.

"Alright, off you go."

After her Familiar hopped off of her palm, the creature splits itself into six of them, two of each color, pink, green, and blue. The six then flew off towards their destinations to set up some illusion spells.

* * *

"So… What exactly did you do to me during that lap pillow?" Issei asks Rias, now sitting on the couch properly after removing his head from her lap.

"When you became my foot soldier, I told you I used all eight of my Pawn pieces to reincarnate you."

"Yeah, you told me that before. What about it?"

"Well, what I _didn't_ tell you was how much power you received. If I had unleashed everything all at once, your body wouldn't have been able to take it, so I casted a spell to keep that power at bay. Because of the spell, your abilities come to you in small manageable stages. What I just did was release another portion of your power."

"Okay…" Issei says, still unsure. "Does that explain this weird feeling I'm having right now?"

Rias gives Issei a smile with eyes of reassurance.

"This is just the beginning of what you can do, Ise. But in order for your body to be able to handle your Boosted Gear, on top of the full extent of your power, I had to make sure you were strong enough to handle them."

Issei made a look of surprise, as did Asia, who turned around from the two.

"Oh! There I was, being jealous when all along, Rias was just helping him! Dear God, please forgive me for being so stupid and letting my awful jealousy get the best of me!"

ZAP!

"OW!"

Rias giggles at Asia while Issei sweat drops at her. Issei then feels Rias place a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention.

"Do your best out there. Don't go easy on them just because their girls."

Issei rolls his eyes at her.

"Buchou, I fought a girl before. You don't have to remind me that."

Rias lets out a giggle at his response.

"I can't wait to see what you do out there. I just know you're going to make me proud."

" _Rias, do you copy?"_

Hearing Akeno's voice in her communicator, Rias places her hand on her left ear.

"I hear you loud and clear, Akeno."

" _We're ready when you are. Just say the word."_

After hearing this, Rias stands up from the sofa while keeping her hand on her communicator.

"Alright guys, here's the game plan."

* * *

 _ **~Student council room~**_

"The Gremory team might be about to make their first move," Tsubaki said to Sona and Yoruichi while watching the screens.

"With as many pieces as she's missing, Rias won't be able to protect her home base and launch a full assault," Sona added. "Because of that, she'll have to force her way in with tertiary attacks."

Sona and Tsubaki turn their attention towards Yoruichi, who was looking at the Gremory team with a stern gaze.

"What say you, Yoruichi?" Sona asks her, wanting her opinion on the matter.

Breathing a small breath, she shifts her eyes towards the Sitri Devils.

"They should be able to pull off whatever they're up to just fine, but that's just me being too hopeful for the Gremorys." a smirk then forms from her lips, surprising Sona and Tsubaki. "If anything, I'm waiting to see how Issei does, after all of that training he's done, I'm sure he'll be full of surprises."

Sona blinks at Yoruichi's opinion. She then narrows her eyes back on the screens with her arms folded in front of her.

"We'll have to see how it goes."

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

Issei made his way out of the old school building to meet up with Koneko outside. After he met up with her, the two place their hands on their communicators to hear Rias' instructions.

" _Alright you two, once you're in the gym, there's no way you can avoid a confrontation. Be sure to follow our plan."_

"Got it."

"Roger that."

* * *

" _Kiba, you all set?"_

Kiba checked his surroundings in the forest before giving Rias the confirmation.

"Yes. I'm in position now."

* * *

" _Akeno, stand by to move. We're counting on you."_

Akeno smiles while standing on the rooftop of a building.

"We totally got this."

* * *

After getting the confirmations, Rias smirked and continued speaking.

"Let's go, team! Commence Operation: Phenex Ashes! Your opponent is Riser Phenex, a gifted warrior, even among the House of Phenex. Show no mercy, because none will be shown to you!"

After Rias wrapped up communications, giving the team the green light to move out, Asia clasps her hands together and closes her eyes.

'Good luck you guys. I'll be praying for each and every one of you.'

* * *

Issei and Koneko have managed to sneak into the gym via the back door, leading them to the stage of the theater section of the gym.

'Damn, I still can't believe how good of a copy this place is,' Issei thought while keeping quiet and gripping the hilts of both his Scale Blade and large sword.

Suddenly, the gymnasium's lights flashed on.

"You might as well come out, Gremorys," a female voice called out impatiently. "We know you're here!"

"Dammit!" Issei cursed silently. "looks like the stealth approach is scrapped, huh?"

Having no choice, Issei and Koneko walk out of their hiding spots to meet their enemy face to face. Upon arrival, Issei's eyes slightly widen when he sees four girls, three of them he remembers their names as Mira, Ile, and Nel.

"Look who we have here," the China girl said with a cocky voice. "She sent us a Pawn, and a Rook. This will be interesting."

Issei makes a "Hmph!" noise as he crosses his arms in front of his chest again. "We meet again, I suppose."

"I'm Mira, and I'm a Phenex Pawn!"

"I'm Xuelan, a Phenex Rook!" The china girl introduced next, leaving the last two up to the green haired loli twins.

"I'm Ile, and I'm a Pawn!"

"My name's Nel, and I'm also a Pawn!"

"The Rook chick," Koneko began with narrowed eyes aiming at Xuelan. "She could be a big problem for us."

"How so, Koneko-chan?"

"Based on her power level, or Reiatsu, as you call it, she's got the skills of a Queen."

"Doesn't sound good." Issei said with a frown, but he then smirked as he called forth his Boosted Gear. "Well, we knew we were underdogs from the beginning! But we're gonna show them what happens when they underestimate us!"

Issei balls his Boosted Gear embedded hand into a fist.

"Power up! Boost!'

 _{Boost!}_

Issei narrows his eyes towards his gauntlet before setting her attention towards the girls.

'That should be enough power for now. Can't afford to boost too much and go burst.'

"Those Pawns are all yours, Issei-senpai," Koneko tells him while cracking her knuckles. "I'll try my luck with the Rook. Watch my back out there. At least keep those chicken heads off me."

Issei looks at Koneko and gives her a smirk of confidence.

"Don't worry, you can count on me, Koneko-chan! Now, let's fry us some chicken!"

Koneko rolled her eyes at the small joke Issei made and went ahead to engage in battle with Xuelan, while Issei engaged in battle with the Phenex Pawns.

* * *

 _ **~Phenex home base~**_

"So she decided to attack from the center after all," Riser says, not sounding amused at the slightest. "Yubelluna, how are things on the other front?"

"My Lord, your Pawns: Shuriya, Marion, and Burent, are moving in on the enemy as we speak."

* * *

The three Pawns mentioned by Yubelluna were currently in the middle of the forest, trying to find their way to the enemy base.

"Damn, this fog is so thick, we won't be able to see anything," Burent says in frustration.

Suddenly, the trio saw a red magic circle in front of them that began to shoot red projectiles at them. Seeing them in time, the girls quickly moved away, from the circle dodging every magical bullet fired at them.

"A trap?!" Shuriya shouts with a smirk. "Did they really think something that lame would work?!"

Burent giggled at the scenario.

"The Gremorys are dumber than I thought."

"A cute trick for a Rating Game virgin," Marion added in agreement.

* * *

Back at the Gym, Koneko and Xuelan were throwing it down with their fight. While the two were fighting, Koneko noticed that her opponent enhances her attacks with fire to make the damage greater.

Xuelan goes in for the jump kick, only for Koneko to dodge it to the left. The former continued throwing kicks at her, with Koneko dodging every single one until she notices her going for a punch, successfully dodging that one too. But instead of Xuelan throwing another punch with her opposite fist, she bends forward and gives Koneko a reverse kick.

While Koneko dodged it by a graze, since her kick was enhanced with the fire of the Phenex, it was able to tear off a shred of Koneko's school outfit, exposing the left side of her pink bra, and a small bit of her panties.

"You alright, Koneko-chan?!" Issei asked her, seeing that Xuelan's attack did something.

Issei's eyes widen when he feels a presence to his left charge at him in speed and jumps backwards. Upon dodging, it was revealed that Mira attempted to hit him with her staff again, but failed since he dodged it.

VROOM! VROOM!

"What the?"

Issei turns around when he heard the sound of motor coming from behind him. He widens his eyes with narrowed brows when it was revealed that Ile and Nel have chainsaws behind their backs, with devilish smiles on their faces.

""It's disassembling time~!""

While Issei was dealing with the new threats, Koneko continued dodging and blocking Xuelan's barrage of flame coated kicks. The latter then tried to get her with a spin kick, only for Koneko to catch her leg as soon as she performed it, making the Phenex Rook curse under her breath.

Xuelan than widened her eyes when Koneko began to pull her towards her, with her right fist cocked for a punch. As soon as she got Xuelan close enough to her, she threw her punch at the Phenex Rook's cheek, making her tumble backwards.

When Xuelan regained her balance, she rubbed her cheek with her left hand while smirking at her opponent.

"Nice one."

Koneko didn't listen. She took that moment to ram her shoulder onto Xuelan's stomach.

"GAAAHH!"

Koneko's shoulder charge was so strong, it blew Xuelan backwards from five feet. She then fell on the ground on her back, holding onto her stomach with her left hand. Growling in frustration, she used her strength to sit up from the ground and glare at Koneko.

"Who the Hell are you?!"

Koneko kept a neutral face while answering:

"Name's Koneko. Suck it."

Meanwhile, Issei was constantly running away from the giggling loli twins with chainsaws, keeping his distance from them so he can think of a plan to take out all of the Pawns at once.

"Why ya running, punk boy?!" Ile asks him.

"You afraid of chainsaws or something?" Nel asks.

"It's called keeping my distance!" Issei argued with an agitated expression. "You can't expect me to just stand there and take your attacks! Morons!"

Suddenly, Issei spotted Mira attempting to attack him with her staff again. Thanks to his reflexes, he was able to jump over her before the staff could make contact with his body.

"No way!" Mira exclaims, not believing the athletic jump he pulled off.

'Phew! That was a close one,' Issei said in his thoughts. He then notices that the loli twins were now close to them, having their chainsaws cocked back to swing.

""Slice 'im up! Slice 'im up! Slice 'im up!""

"Oh Lordy Loo!"

Issei got ready to dodge their attacks as soon as they got closer to him. Ile slashed horizontally, so he dodged vertically. Then Nel attempted to cut him in half with a vertical strike, making him dodge to the left. The girls tried to attack him together, but before their chainsaws could touch him, Issei resorted to Shunpo so he could make it back to the ground.

"Oh man!" Issei exclaimed. "That was crazy!"

"You bastard! Stop dodging!"

"Come on! We just wanna dice you up!"

Issei sweat dropped at their complaining, but got into a fighting stance while having his right hand have two fingers pointed out like a gun.

"Sorry, girls, but I don't intend on losing! And neither will any of us servants of Rias Gremory-sama!"

The loli twins widen their eyes in shock when they see Issei conjure up a flame of black aura that had a white outlining circling around it from his index and middle fingers.

Then, without the twins' knowledge, Issei approached them with Shunpo and began his attack.

"Alright, You're one!" Issei says to one twin, striking her with his right palm and planting a black and white magic seal on her left shoulder. He then moves on to the next twin. "And you're two!"

Issei struck his right palm on the second twin's right shoulder, planting a seal there too. The twins then fell down on the ground from Issei's palm strikes.

After landing on the ground, Issei sees Mira giving him a glare, gripping her staff in front of her.

"No more screwing around!"

After shouting those words, Mira charges at him once more to strike him down with her staff.

Smirking, Issei stuck out his left hand and caught the staff, surprising Mira. Issei then balls his right hand into a fist and punches the staff in two, breaking it.

Mira looks on at Issei in total shock. She knew he was strong, but how quickly he was able to grab her staff and break it in two was something she did not expect.

"And here's three!"

Issei then strikes her stomach with his right palm, both hurting her, and planting a seal at the same time. He then grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her towards the loli twins and waited for her to land in between the two. As soon as she did, he nodded to himself.

'Alright! Here goes!'

With a serious stare aimed at the Phenex Pawns, Issei presses the back of his thumb against the tip of his index finger from his right hand and…

 _Snap_!

KA-BOOM! BOOOM! BA-BOOM!

""KYAAAAAAAAAHHH!""

"GUAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Koneko and Xuelan, who was pinned down by the former, looked on at the scene with wide eyes. The two have witnessed the Phenex Pawns get engulfed by three explosions of black and white aura that came from the seals he planted on them, causing significant damage to the girls.

"Mira! Ile! Nel!"

Issei kept his stare on the explosions. He knew better than to assume that it was an instant victory. He was going to wait until his aura clears up and reveal the Pawns' conditions.

Five seconds later, the aura did clear up, and it revealed an injure Ile and Nel, but the most injured of the three was Mira, who appeared to have a hard time getting up.

"I… Can't move…"

Issei nods to himself, confirming that Mira has been taken down by his explosive attack. However, his eyes narrow when he saw that the chainsaw wielding loli twins were able to get up and shoot a glare at him, chainsaws in their hands.

"Tch!" 'Guess that's what I get for going for the shoulders on those two,' Issei says in his thoughts. 'Looks like I'll have to use _that_ move to finish them off.'

"We can't lose to this punk!" Ile says to her twin sister.

"If we do, Riser-sama's gonna be pissed!"

As the loli twins rev up their chainsaws, they engulf the blades with flames of a Phenex before charging at Issei like berserkers.

""Let's slice off his balls!""

"Hmph! You want some more?" Issei grabs the hilt of his Scale Blade with his right hand and unsheathes it, sparks flying from both the sword, and the inside of its scabbard.

"Bring it on!" Issei shouts as he lifts his sword above him. "Here's another one of my special moves!"

Mira, Koneko, and Xuelan widen their eyes at his declaration.

"He's got another trick?!" Xuelan asks in disbelief.

"Issei-senpai…" Koneko watches as Issei performs whatever special move he has for the loli twins.

"Huuuuuuaaaaaaaaaagh!"

Issei focuses his aura on his right hand, which held his Scale Blade. After a few seconds of concentration, he lets out a smirk when he sees that the blade of his sword was now engulfed by his black and white aura.

Satisfied, he cocks his arm to his left while the aura is still surrounding the blade and waited for the twins, who hadn't notice the aura engulfing the sword, to get close enough to use his new technique.

'Now!'

satisfied with how close they got, Issei grips the hilt of his Scale Blade and swings his sword right.

"HAAAAAH!"

After Issei swung his sword horizontally, the loli twins stop in their tracks and widen their eyes in fear when they saw of wave of his aura, shaped like a crescent, rushing towards them in. The twins attempted to run away from the crescent, but they were too late.

""KYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The loli twins got hit by the large black crescent with a white outlining, screaming in pain as the attack pushed them towards a wall and made them crash into it. The aura disappeared afterward, followed by the twins and their chainsaws falling to the ground with a loud thud.

"Uuuugh… What the Hell…"

"Was that..?"

"Don't bother trying to get up," Issei says to the twins with a stern expression, seeing them trying to get on their feet, failing repeatedly. "With the amount of power I put in that attack, you two have taken too much damage to move."

The loli twins worked up the strength to lift their heads up from the ground and shoot a scowl at Issei.

"Damn you!"

"What kind of attack was that, anyway?!"

"Hmph!" Issei sticks his Scale Blade out in front of them, holding it in a horizontal position. "What you've just witnessed was an attack that uses my aura as an offensive weapon." He points his left finger at the blade of his sword. "After concentrating my aura on the blade, or any weapon I use, my sword becomes engulfed by it, and is prepared to be launched at my command by a simple swing in any direction I swing it. Upon the swing, my aura is launched out of my weapon, taking on a shape of a crescent as it rushes towards the enemy I aim the attack at."

Taking a breath from his explanation, he sheaths his Scale Blade while keeping his stare on the twins.

"The attack has a name… Getsuga Tenshou."

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

"Amazing…" Tsubaki commented with an astonished expression.

"I will admit," Sona began. "I'm impressed that Hyoudou-san is able to use his aura in such a unique way."

"I know, right?" Yoruichi agreed with the widest grin possible. "I helped him learn the move myself, as well as other techniques, including the explosive aura you witnessed."

Hearing that made Sona and Tsubaki widen their eyes at the Nekomata.

"You trained him into utilizing his black and white aura?" Tsubaki asked her.

"Yup!" Yoruichi then places her hands on her cheeks and sighed happily. "I remember when he finally got Getsuga Tenshou down too. That was my most favorite attack for him to use."

 _~Flashback~_

" _HUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!"_

 _Issei launches a Getsuga Tenshou from his Scale Blade at another tree with a horizontal slash, destroying that one, and the other two trees next to it with the crescent shaped aura slashing through them._

 _Issei pants while keeping his stare at the cut down trees, letting a small smirk form from his lips after seeing the results._

" _Way to go, buddy!" Yoruichi congratulates her master while clapping her hands excitedly. "Now, try doing a vertical Getsuga Tenshou, and then a diagonal one!"_

 _Issei nods his head in affirmative and grips onto his Scale Blade with his right hand. He then proceeds to lift it above him, intending to do a vertical slash. He concentrates his aura onto the blade and engulfs it with it. After getting enough of the aura to surround the blade, he slashes his sword downwards to launch his next Getsuga Tenshou, except this time, it was a vertical crescent instead of a horizontal one._

 _Issei then shifts his Scale Blade diagonally and did the same procedure to fire another Getsuga Tenshou that way. He engulfs his sword with his aura and then slashes it diagonally, resulting in a diagonal Getsuga Tenshou._

" _Woo hoo!" Yoruichi applauds him again for launching those two attacks. "I knew you'd get it!"_

 _Issei chuckles slightly as he lands his butt onto the ground, panting heavily._

" _Yeah. Though, it is a little tough having to get the aura onto an object, compared to just simply conjuring it from my hands."_

 _Yoruichi lets out a giggle and plops down next to Issei._

" _Alright, Issei. Let's call it quits for now. It's getting late."_

" _Yeah."_

 _~Flashback end~_

"*Sigh*. Good times."

Sona and Tsubaki look on at Yoruichi in amusement when she told them about his training session on that particular attack.

'Wow… To think that Hyoudou-kun would train with his Familiar…' Tsubaki says in her mind, softening her eyes when she turns her head to look at Issei in the screen recording the gymnasium.

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

Koneko was staring at Issei in shock. When she witnessed him firing his Getsuga Tenshou, she felt a familiar odd feeling she felt when she witnessed his aura from back when Riser was in the club room take on the shape of a skull; a skull that looked like his mask.

While Xuelan too was amazed with Issei's attack, she was also upset that her three allies were defeated by him since he was the enemy.

"What's wrong, Koneko-chan?"

Koneko snapped out of her worried gaze when she heard Issei talk to him.

"If you were worried about me, you've got nothing to fear," Issei assured her since he noticed her worried expression aimed at him. "Besides, you were able to take down Xuelan. You should be proud."

Xuelan gritted her teeth while looking away from Issei, feeling ashamed of her defeat. Koneko on the other hand, only looked downwards with softened eyes, confusing Issei even further.

" _Koneko, Ise, what's your status?"_

Issei blinks when he hears Rias' voice from his communicator. He places his hand over it to respond.

"The gym's under our control, Buchou. We're now awaiting further orders."

" _Good work, you two. Akeno's in position and she's ready to go. I want you two to evacuate immediately."_

Issei and Koneko nod at Rias' command. The two then nod at each other before beginning to move.

But first, Issei wanted to do something right quick.

Issei picks up the two halves of Mira's staff with both of his hands and made his way to her, who widened her eyes at the sight of him in front of her, fearing that he's here to finish her off.

CLACK! CLACK!

"Huh?"

Mira was confused at first when she heard the sound of two objects dropping on the floor, but when she opened her eyes, she widened them in surprise to see that Issei dropped the two staff halves in front of her while smiling softly.

"Why are you giving them back?" Mira asks while looking away with furrowed brows. "I can't work up the strength to fight back, you know?"

Issei's smile didn't drop from her tone of her voice.

"I didn't have a need for them," he answered simply. "Besides, you may need it when you get back from the game."

Mira widened her eyes again at how kind Issei sounded to her. When she moved her head back to him, her cheeks tinge pink when she saw him wink at her with a gentle smile.

"Get stronger, Mira. If we ever have a rematch, I'd like to see how much you've improved from this game."

As Issei turned around to catch up with Koneko, Mira's eyes soften at how nice he was to her. She expected him to at least tell her how weak she was and how she was clumsy, but no. Instead, he encouraged her to get stronger for the next time they met.

She didn't know why, but she started getting a warm feeling in her heart when she heard his words to her loop repeatedly in her mind.

"Wait! Are you two leaving?!" Xuelan asks Issei and Koneko when she saw them head toward the exit. "This place is vital for the game! How can you two just run off like that?!"

Issei stopped his pace and turned to the Phenex Rook.

"It isn't like me to kick down enemies who can't defend themselves."

"Huh?" Xuelan made a confused sound when he said that to her.

"Besides, after this is all over," Issei continues, shooting her a kind smile. "I hope we can all be friends."

Xuelan and the loli twins gasped at what he just said. Their enemy was a man that Rias despised, and yet he wants to be friends with them after the game is over? What kind of talk was that?

"Let's go, Issei-senpai!"

"Oh! I'm coming!"

Issei ran out of the gym with Koneko in front, leaving the girls to look on at the doorway, still surprised with the young Pawn's words to them.

But Mira wasn't surprised. She was smiling to herself when she heard him say he wanted to be friends. Because of how kind and sweet he was to his enemy, it was like she expected him to say something like that.

'That Rook of Gremory-sama called him Issei…'

Mira's smile widens as she closes her eyes and let's a blush form on her face.

'I can't wait to see him again.'

* * *

Issei and Koneko have made it out of the gym while running as fast as they could. Once they were at a safe distance from the building, the two turned around to face it.

"Okay, when's Akeno-senpai gonna blow her sky high?"

Issei's question was answered when he and Koneko saw a yellow magic circle appear from a storm cloud that just so happened to be above the gymnasium.

CRACK! BANG!

Issei jumped in surprise when a large bolt of yellow lightning blew up the entire gymnasium, leaving nothing but ruble.

"Take~! Ufufufufu~."

It was at that moment, Grayfia's voice can be heard from an unseen intercom.

" _Three of Riser-sama's Pawns, and one of his Rooks, retire."_

"Holy shit!" Issei exclaimed while staring at the destroyed gym with eyes as wide as saucers. "That was insane!"

"Yup. 'Insane' is one way to put it," Koneko said in agreement. "She's the real deal. It's why her nickname is 'The Priestess of Thunder'. She knows how to bring the boom. And she likes it."

Issei blinked at his kouhai in astonishment.

'This might be the first time I've heard her talk this much.'

He then turns his head to Akeno, who was flying above the destroyed gym giving Issei a sly wink while licking her fingers, making the former blush a little.

"I'm just glad that hardcore woman's on our team, and not theirs."

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

"I must say, I'm impressed," Sona commented with a smirk while pushing up her glasses. "Rias used an important strategic position to lure them into a trap, and then blew it sky high. Pretty bold move."

"You're right," Agreed Tsubaki. "Looks like Riser-sama has no choice but to unleash everything."

"True," Added Sona. "This battle's just begun."

The two then turn to Yoruichi to get her opinion.

"How about you?"

"Heh! I couldn't agree with you more Sona." She then focuses her attention on Tsubaki and gives her a sly wink and smirk. "And I think even _you_ can agree with me when I say that my Familiar master's a very kind man; being sympathetic with the enemy."

Tsubaki widens her eyes at Yoruichi and immediately looks away from her, trying her best to suppress her ghost of a blush.

"Y-Y-Yeah… I've known that for quite a while now."

Sona sighs at her Queen's shy behavior and Yoruichi's teasing grin and pays attention back to the game.

'I wonder if Hyoudou-san will realize that being too kind to people, especially to women, will eventually bite him back one day?'

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

Issei and Koneko have their hands on their communicators to listen to their next objective from Rias.

" _The Phenexes still have us outnumbered. We'll need to by Akeno a little bit of time so she can be fully ready for her second attack. Once her power is replenished, we'll start to make preparations for our next move. Until then, stick to the plan, and I promise you, we_ will _win this game!"_

Issei nods his head in affirmative and turns his head to Koneko, getting her attention.

"Where to now?"

"We need to get to the athletic field as soon as we can. Kiba-senpai's waiting for us there. If we see any baddies, we own them. Sound good?"

Issei nods his head to her in response and turns his head towards their next destination. A worried expression is now on his face.

"I just hope he's doing okay. I mean, he's all alone out there."

* * *

Back in the forest, Marion conjures up an orange ball of magic and fires it at a Gremory seal, destroying another one of the traps she, Burent, and Shuriya were able to find before it could go off.

"Do you think the Gremorys really believe these stupid traps are going to slow us down at all?" Marion asks to her team, getting annoyed by how many traps they've encountered so far.

"Girls!" Marion and Shuriya's attention were now on Burent, who was pointing towards somewhere. "I've found their home base!"

Upon further inspection, the Phenex Pawns smirked to themselves when they saw the roof of the old school building. But their smirks immediately dropped to frowns and confused expressions when they saw that the building has vanished like a ghost.

"What the Hell?" Marion didn't understand what happened.

"Hello, Ladies."

The Phenex Pawns gasp when they heard a male voice from behind and turned around to the source. They widened their eyes in surprise to see Kiba smirking to them while holding the hilt of his Holy Eraser in his left hand.

"You gals looking for some company? Because if you're feeling lonely this evening, I might be the man for you."

"Shit! Guess we walked right into that one didn't we?" Burent asked to her teammates.

Kiba chuckled while pointing his right index finger towards his head.

"While we lack in manpower, we make up for it in brain."

Shuriya only giggled at him with a devious look.

"I hate to burst your bubble, since you are my type, blonde, but as cute as you are, do you think you can take all three of us at once?"

"Hmph! Why don't we find out?" Kiba asks happily as he unsheathes his Holy Eraser and holds it in front of him, readying himself for combat.

Seeing the situation they're in, Marion turns to Burent and Shuriya, having an idea.

"Girls! You two go ahead and take care of that blonde, I'll go ahead and scout out the other Gremorys!"

"No, Marion!" Shuriya barks back. "If we're gonna take down that Knight, it's going to be the three of us!"

"B-But, Shuriya! It's two on one! You two can handle it!"

Burent rolls her eyes at her fellow Pawn, knowing the _exact_ reason why she wants to leave.

"Look, Marion, if you wanna fight that Pawn boy so badly, it can wait once we kick that blonde's ass!"

Marion stutters at her words while her cheeks started to turn red.

"Sh-Sh-Sh-Shut up!"

"Then help us out! We'll get to the others after we take him down and promote to Queen!"

Marion gives Burent a slight pout before nodding her head and focusing her attention on Kiba.

* * *

"Nah. I'm sure he'll handle himself out there," Issei says to Koneko. "I mean, he's got his speed, and chances are, his opponents are Pawns. Either way, we better leg it and give him a hand."

Koneko nods her head in agreement, giving Issei the green light to get moving towards their next destination, with Koneko following from behind.

As the two were walking. Issei stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes and furrowed brows.

'That Reiatsu… I recognize this particular signature anywhere.'

"Issei-senpai? what's wrong?"

Issei didn't pay attention to Koneko's question. He was too busy scouting out the Reiatsu signature that he knew belonged to a Phenex Devil. His eyes then widened further as he felt it getting closer and closer. He then turns around to his kouhai and started running towards her.

"Koneko-chan!"

Koneko lets out a gasp in surprise when Issei suddenly shoved her four feet away from him. Right After he did that, a purple magic circle surrounded him and…

BOOM!

Koneko gasps again, more louder than her previous one. She stared on at the scene with eyes as wide as saucers when she witnessed her senpai getting caught in a big explosion created by the purple magic circle. Her heart starts to beat at a very fast pace, not believing what just happened.

"ISSEI-SENPAI!"

"Ufufufufu~."

Koneko flinches when she heard a sinister giggle from above. Looking up towards the source of the giggle, her eyes narrow angrily and shivers in rage as she finds out who was responsible for blowing up her senpai.

"That's one down," Yubelluna says, letting out another giggle.

"You…"

"When you hunt a prey, the best time to take them down is when they've accomplished something. That's the time when the prey is the most vulnerable."

ZIP!

Yubelluna was interrupted from her speech when she felt someone speed by them from behind, followed by a sharp pain in her left side.

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Yubelluna holds onto her left side as she widens her eyes in horror when it started bleeding large amounts of blood from the slash that looked to have been caused a blade, and what appeared to be claw marks.

"Wh… What?! How?!"

Koneko looked on at the sight as well, eyes widened in shock at the amount of blood that profusely leaked from the wound on the Phenex Queen's left side, and rained on the ground.

"That's some move you pulled, Yubelluna."

It was at this moment that both Koneko and Yubelluna shot their heads towards the source of a male voice. Upon eye contact, they both looked at who it was, eyes widening in shock.

"But don't let your guard down until you've at least confirmed that your opponent is _truly_ taken down."

The man they saw in front of them was Issei Hyoudou, holding his Scale Blade firmly in his right hand while clenching his Boosted Gear embedded fist. He looked unscathed, not at all harmed from Yubelluna's explosive magic.

"Issei-senpai…" Koneko's eyes began to water, so thankful that Issei's still in the game and kicking.

"You?!" Yubelluna sends Issei a harsh glare while keeping her hand on her still bleeding wound. "I don't understand! I timed my explosive perfectly to explode as soon as either you, or possibly that girl ever set foot on my magic circle!"

Issei lets out a "Hmph!" as he makes the sharp scale sized blades maneuver in a twitching motion, causing sparks to fly out of the sword.

"I've simply moved out of the way in time. That's all there is to it."

Yubelluna growls at the Pawn when she saw him smirk in confidence, a smirk Koneko personally grown accustomed to during her training session with him ten days ago.

* * *

 _ **~Student Council Room~**_

"Phew! He almost scared me there!" Yoruichi says as she wipes the sweat off of her forehead. "As soon as Issei shoved Koneko-san out of Yubelluna's magic circle, he used Shunpo to escape from the explosive magic, and strike at the Phenex Queen with his Scale Blade." She then lets out a hearty laugh. "Good thing he's got that particular sword to make her injuries fatal, being one of the nine trick weapons."

Sona and Tsubaki widen their eyes at her.

"You know of the nine trick weapons that can damage the three Factions without Holy and Light properties?"

"Yup!" Yoruichi replies with a toothy grin while folding her arms behind her head. "I assume you've heard of them too?"

"I have. Rias did tell me that he's acquired one of them, that being the Scale Blade, in a cave somewhere in the Familiar Forest. Where the other eight trick weapons are, we have yet to find out."

Sona then turns her attention back to the game.

"And yes, I do agree with how Hyoudou-san was able to counter her attack. Now that I've seen it, it makes me question if a speed of a Knight can avoid attacks like Yubelluna's too."

Tsubaki nodded in agreement while being thankful that Issei is still alright. She looks on at Issei standing before her enemy and alongside Koneko.

'Hyoudou-kun…'

* * *

"Tch! Don't think you've defeated me just because you've cut me with that fancy sword of yours, brat!"

Issei looks on to see that Yubelluna was digging in her breast pocket for something. He let's out a sigh, knowing what she's looking for.

"You're going to use your Phenex Tears to heal up, are you? Hmph! Go ahead. It'll be more of a challenge than fighting you with a bleeding wound."

Yubelluna lets out another growl as she took out a bottle of Phenex Tears and opens it up. She then pours the liquid all over her wounds, and as Issei expected, her wounds have healed 100%.

"Ara ara, somebody looks pissed."

Issei and Koneko turned around to see Akeno float down towards them while giggling.

"Ise-kun, you've scared me. I thought that Bomb Queen over there really got you."

Issei lets his traditional confident smirk from from his lips.

"You've got nothing to worry about." He then points his thumb towards Yubelluna. "Can you take care of her for us? Koneko-chan and I need to catch up with Kiba."

Akeno giggles towards her while placing a hand on her cheek.

"Why, of course I'll take care of her." She then aims her sultry gaze at her. "But there's something you need to do for me first, my favorite kouhai~."

Issei flinches at the nickname she gave him, but sighed, wanting to get this over with.

"What is it, senpai?"

"Ufufu~. From now on, I want you to call me Akeno-san. There's no need for you to address me this way anymore.

Issei and Koneko sweat drop at her request.

"That's it?" Issei asks with beady brown eyes. "That's all you want me to do so you can fight her?"

"Yup. That's all."

Issei let's out a sigh, keeping his deadpanned stare on his senpai.

"Okay… If that's what you want… Akeno-san."

Satisfied, Akeno moves in front of Issei and Koneko to face Yubelluna.

"Oh! Akeno-san!"

"Yes, Ise-kun?"

Getting her attention, Issei leaned forward and whispered something in her ear while slipping something in her pocket, earning a confused look from Koneko and Yubelluna.

Getting what he whispered to her, Akeno nods her head with a smile.

"Got it! Thanks for the tip!"

Smiling, Issei turns his head to Koneko and nods to her, getting a nod back from her, and the two get moving to find Kiba.

Seeing them gone, Akeno turns her head towards her opponent, who lets a smirk form from her lips.

"I've been wanting to fight you for what seems like ages, Priestess of Thunder."

Akeno giggles at Yubelluna.

"Oh have you now? That's sweet, but the pleasure's truly mine, Bomb Queen."

"Tch! I don't like being called that because of the name's bad taste."

Flaring up their power, Akeno's yellow, and Yubelluna's purple, their battle has begun.

* * *

" _Three of Riser-sama's Pawns, retire."_

Issei and Koneko widen their eyes in surprise when they heard Grayfia announce this.

"Wow! That quick?!"

The two halt in their pace when they saw a familiar person wave at them by a large tree.

"Hey there."

"Kiba!" Issei and Koneko smile at him while running to him. "I assume those outs were all you?"

"Yup," Kiba replied to Issei. "It was all thanks to Akeno-senpai's barrier. With it, she made it easier for me."

After explaining how he defeated the Phenex Pawns, The trio of Gremory Devils set off to find a hiding spot and receive word from Rias on what to do next.

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

"Currently, the remaining pieces on Riser-sama's side have the advantage at nine," Tsubaki says to Sona. "Rias-sama still has six pieces left, counting herself."

Sona nods before speaking.

"While she still has all of her servants in the game, they cannot afford to get careless."

Yoruichi nods in agreement while paying attention to the screen that showed Issei, Kiba, and Koneko hiding in the storage room.

'Be careful out there, Issei.'

* * *

While the three were hiding in the storage room to await further orders, Issei noticed Kiba's left hand on the hilt of his sheathed Holy Eraser shaking.

"Hey Kiba, you alright?"

Kiba jumps when he heard Issei called to him. Setting his eyes on him, he lets out a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous. While I indeed do have fighting experience, this is the first Rating Game I've ever had to partake in."

Kiba paused when Issei stuck his fist out in front of him, confusing the blonde man.

"Well, quit worrying about it. We've fought Hollows before, so we can sure as Hell take down the Phenex Devils. I don't care how, but we _are_ going to win this. You feel me?"

Kiba chuckles at his friend and bumps his fist to his.

"Yeah, you're damn right we are."

"Word," Koneko adds in agreement.

" _Ise, Kiba-kun, Koneko-san, do you read me?"_

The trio place their hands on their communicators when they heard Rias' voice.

"We read you loud and clear," Issei answers. "What's up?"

" _I'm launching a sneak attack on Riser's base with Asia. I want you three to draw as many of the enemy away from the entrance as you can to buy us time."_

Issei widens his eyes with furrowed eyebrows.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Buchou? Keep in mind that Asia's our only healer we've got!"

" _I'm left with no choice, Ise. I was planning to give Akeno time to recover so she could blast them one by one, but now, Riser sent his Queen, so I need her focus on her."_

"Yes, of course," Kiba began. "But don't you think it's too risky to have the king leave the base?"

" _With any luck, Riser will be thinking along the same lines. Here's hoping I can take him by surprise. If we can strike him strong and hard enough, we might just be able to take the fight out of him and win! His body may be immortal, but his heart, and Riser himself is_ not. _And trust me, I will have no problem whatsoever breaking that Devil's black heart!"_

After hearing her hang up, Issei looks to Kiba and Koneko with a serious expression.

"Well, since that's decided, let's show them what we Devils of Rias Gremory-sama can do!"

"You've got it my friend," Kiba replies in agreement.

"Damn right," Koneko adds.

Issei then positions himself with his fists at his sides.

"Um… Issei… What are you-"

"I'm going to use my Soul Radar to scout ahead for any Phenex Devils without having to go outside and check." Issei immediately answers, making Kiba have a look of recognition.

"'Soul Radar'? Do you mean that ability you used to find us when we were fighting the Hollows?"

"Yup. Now then, one moment please."

Taking a deep breath, Issei closes his eyes and concentrates his power. Kiba and Koneko look on to see how focused Issei was, feeling his power bubble up nice and gently.

With one last slow breath, Issei slowly opens his eyes, his surroundings now in a cobalt color. Issei first sets his sights on the two red Reiatsu flames from afar that appear to be moving slowly to the right.

"Looks like Buchou and Asia are already moving out."

He shifts his eyes to the right and stops to see one red flame and one orange flame dancing around with one another.

"Akeno-san's still battling Yubelluna, but since we can't help her now, all we can do is hope for the former's victory."

He then starts turning his body right very slowly while shifting his eyes around, looking for more orange flames that show that they are Phenex Devils.

"!"

"What's wrong, Issei-senpai?"

Koneko noticed that Issei's eyes widened while his eyebrows were still furrowed.

"One of Riser's girls are out in the gym field, just from outside of the storage room we're in."

Kiba and Koneko's eyes narrow at the news.

"What should we do?" Kiba asks him while gripping the hilt of his sword.

"Well, since she's the only one here, I think it's best we go ahead and confront her. Since this is a three on one situation, there may be a chance that that Yakitori's gonna send out all of his servants after us to aid this particular woman."

Kiba puts a hand to his chin, thinking about Issei's idea before looking towards him with a serious expression.

"You may be right, Issei. After all, Buchou does want us to draw away the enemy, so we might as well give what you thought of a shot."

Koneko nods in agreement. Seeing this, Issei points a thumb towards the storage room's door.

"Alright then. Let's get to it folks! If anything happens, we stick together!"

""Right!""

* * *

After Issei, Kiba, and Koneko walk out of the storage room and out into the field, Issei puts his left hand on the hilt of his sheathed Scale Blade and sets his glare in the direction of the nearby Reiatsu flame, his Soul Radar still enabled.

"You might as well show yourself," Issei says to the invisible Phenex Devil. "I can detect your presence."

The trio of Gremory Devils stood their ground when they heard laughter from the direction Issei was staring at. After three seconds past, a gust of wind flies by and reveals the woman with knight armor, who was staring at them with a stern gaze.

"I am Karlamine, a Knight in the service of Riser-sama!"

Karlamine then turns her head to Issei and gives him a smirk.

"I must admit, your ability to find someone, despite them hiding themselves well, is rather impressive." Karlamine proceeds to unsheathe her sword and aim it towards the trio while the blade is engulfed by flames. "However, don't think that this will assure you an easy victory!"

Issei deadpanned at her last sentence.

"I never did think that though…"

Issei was snapped out of his deadpan when he saw Kiba walk forward towards her.

"I am Kiba Yuuto, a Knight in the service of Rias Gremory-sama!"

Kiba unsheathes his Holy Eraser and gets into a fighting position.

"I've been looking forward to battling another Knight! Can't wait to get started!"

Karlamine smirks at her opponent.

"Very well said! En garde, Knight of Rias Gremory-sama!"

With that said, the battle between the two Knights has begin. Kiba and Karlamine charged at each other with their speed trait and begun clashing swords with one another. Sparks fly out of their blades with every clash they make.

Issei looked on at the battle between the two Knights in amusement, admiring the speed and pace that the two were keeping at when they dodged, blocked and attack. He even saw a tornado of sparks when the Knights circled around each other.

"Wow… Guess it would be rude for us to interrupt them."

"Besides, You'll be busy."

Issei and Koneko turn straight around and narrowed their eyes when they saw a new comer, one that Issei recognizes.

"Another Rook," Koneko announces to him.

"And she's not alone," added Issei, detecting more Reiatsu presences.

"Oh, that Karlamine!"

'Speak of the Devil… No pun intended…' Issei thought as his head turns right towards the source of a new voice. He raises an eyebrow when he and Koneko saw the blonde girl in a pink dress suited for a princess.

"Her head is filled with nothing but Swords, Swords, Swords! It's freaking ridiculous!" the blonde girl continued with an agitated expression. "She was way too bothered by how those other pieces were sacrificed too. If you ask me, she needs to keep it together!"

Issei and Koneko start shifting their eyes around when the rest of Riser's servants, along with the blonde girl and Isabela, walk their way towards them. They saw the two cat girls, the girl in the kimono, and the girl with the large sword, who Issei knew as Siris.

The blonde girl then sets her sights on Kiba.

"And now, right when I think I found a cute boy, it turns out he's a sword freak too. Hmph! Guess this isn't my lucky day, isn't it?"

Kiba jumped back from Karlamine for a moment to observe the Phenex Devils behind him.

'Looks like he brought out all of his remaining pieces.' Kiba then smiles. 'Way to go, Issei! You've guessed right!'

Meanwhile, Rias and Asia could be seen in the background sneaking their way towards Riser's base undetected. Issei could sense them, however, he kept quiet and pretended to not notice them.

Issei then raises an eyebrow when he noticed the blonde Phenex Devil scan him with her blue eyes.

"So, this is the Pawn Rias-sama adores, huh?"

"Hmph! She had a reason for trusting me," Issei said to her as he balls his left hand into a fist. "And I'm here to fulfill her wish to set her free. Boosted Gear! Power up!"

 _{Boost!}_

"Oh! Pay no attention to me," the blonde girl says while sticking the palm of her hand in front of him. "I have no intention in fighting you." She then shoots a smirk towards the masked Rook.

"Isabela? Why don't you be their opponent."

Isabela lets a smirk form as her eyes are set on Issei.

"Gladly. Let's fight since we're both bored. I'm Isabela, a Rook in the service of Riser-sama."

Issei nods at her with clenched fists.

"Issei Hyoudou, Pawn of Rias Gremory-sama."

"Issei-senpai, you want me to take care of Masky?"

Issei shakes his head at Koneko.

"No need. I can take care of her myself." he then shoots his eyes towards the masked Rook. "After all, I did promise her we'd fight back in the club room, and who am I to break a promise?"

Isabela widens her eyes a little and takes a step back at his words, but then smirks while letting out a chuckle.

"Of course. I remember the promise you made to me. Now, prepare yourself to fight, Pawn of Rias-sama!"

Issei side steps to the left when Isabela throws a punch at his face, successfully dodging it.

"Heh! You've got some good reflexes, Issei-kun!" Isabela compliments. "So, allow me to increase by one, no, two gears!"

Isabela began to throw a barrage of punches towards the young man. While Issei was dodging and blocking her attacks, he noted that her fighting style was that of a boxer's.

"Oi! If you don't mind me asking," Issei began while throwing some punches and kicks of his own, with Isabela on defense this time. "Why doesn't that blonde girl over there want to fight?"

"Hmph! While she _is_ serving in this battle as a Bishop, for the most part she likes to watch."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because the lady is Ravel Phenex."

Issei widens his eyes at the new information, halting in his fighting.

" _Phenex_?! So… That Ravel person is Riser's sister..? And she's his servant..?" Issei turns his head towards Ravel and shoots her a disgusted look. "That's uh… kinda sick!"

Ravel widens her eyes with furrowed brows at the insult with a blush in embarrassment.

"Heh! I know right?" Isabela asked, looking just as disgusted as Issei did.

"Isabela!" Ravel became more embarrassed when the masked Rook agreed with him.

Isabela ignored her and continued to talk with Issei while fighting.

"Apparently, this is Riser-sama's excuse for having her as his servant:"

 _~Flashback~_

 _Riser: "Oh? You find it creepy that I have my sister in my harem? You're just jealous of Riser. Fear not, she's only part of the team because she needed something to do. I_ don't _have a thing for my sister."_

 _~Flashback end~_

"At least that's what the prick said!" Isabela concluded with an uppercut, which Issei dodged in time before it could hit him.

"That bastard's a sicko on top of being a tool!"

"Ravel's a slut," Koneko added in agreement, earning a gasp and a glare from Ravel.

"How dare you?! I do _not_ like my brother that way!"

"Whatever," she replied, giving Ravel a glare right back.

Jumping back from Isabela to dodge another uppercut, Issei took this time to think about what he just heard.

'Wow… I can't believe Riser would do something like this. At least Isabela's not crazy enough to fall for him.'

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Isabela running at him with a right hook. He dodges to the left and counters with a left punch, only for her to block it with her right arm.

"Heh! You're a lot better than I expected," Isabela complimented while smirking.

Issei didn't respond. He only kept a firm eye on her while dodging and blocking her every strike.

'Well, I haven't been training my ass off for nothing.'

Issei dodges two more punches from Isabela. He then notices her lifting her right foot up and forms an X from his arms to block her kick. He then jumps back from her to think of a way to beat her.

'It's probably best I use my Dragon Shot to take her out. If I were to use Getsuga Tenshou, I'd be wasting more of my stamina and energy than I would when I use my Boosted Gear's attack.'

After making up his mind on what to do, he dodges another uppercut by jumping away with a backflip, landed on his hands, jumped from them, and landed on his feet.

 _{Boost!}_

'That won't be enough,' Issei thinks while taking a quick glace at his Boosted Gear. 'Since she's a Rook, I'll need two more boosts in order for the Dragon Shot to be strong enough.'

Issei kept his eyes on Isabela, waiting for her next move. The latter of whom smirked at Issei.

"I must say, Issei-kun, you really are stronger than I felt you were the last time we met back at the Human world. You must have trained a lot."

Issei fires a smirk back as he puts his Left arm out in front of him with his fist aiming upwards.

"Heh! Thank you for the compliment. I don't like to brag, but I've been training hard in combat since I was eleven years old. That many years, plus the ten day training time does that to a warrior, you know?"

"Really?" Isabela asked, amusement plastered on her face, followed by a smile as she puts her fists up. "Then it looks like fighting you's gonna be a lot more fun than I've anticipated. After all, if you plan on continuing to be a warrior, you must _always_ be ready to fight, no matter what. And you'll _have_ to fight in order to keep the folks you care about safe."

"Heh! I'll be sure to keep that in mind!"

 _{Boost!}_

* * *

While Issei and Kiba were fighting the good fight, Rias and Asia have made their way into the new school building undetected. Rias kept Asia behind her, shifting her eyes around her surroundings in search for any possible threats.

"Hello, my beloved Rias. Riser's been expecting you."

The girls widen their eyes at a familiar voice and look up to see a smug Riser Phenex, looking down upon them with his hands in his pockets.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Kiba's battle with Karlamine, the former becomes surprised when his opponent destroyed his sword.

"Shit! My Holy Eraser!"

Seeing his weapon shatter made Karlamine smile.

"Unfortunately for you, that weapon won't work on someone like me!"

Kiba kept his ground, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly.

"Oh really?! What about this one?!"

He focuses his attention on the top of the hilt.

"Freeze! Flame Delete!"

What happened next made Karlamine adopt a look of shock. After the top of Kiba's hilt shined, blocks of ice began forming upwards and took on the shape of a sword's blade. Afterwards, the ice broke apart, making a fresh new white blade.

"What?! You've gotta be kidding!" Karlamine retorted. "There's now way you can have two Sacred Gears!"

Karlamine lifts her flame engulfed sword above her head and attempts to slash down on Kiba. When Kiba blocked her attack, she widens her eyes again to see shards of ice creep along her sword and destroy her blade, leaving nothing but the hilt.

Growling in anger, she throws the hilt to the side and unsheathes her dagger, engulfing that one in flames afterwards.

"No matter! I still control flame and wind, as do all from the house of Phenex!"

Karlamine then slashes her dagger downwards at Kiba's sword, destroying that one too.

But he didn't see this as a problem, Kiba only smirked at her as he cocked his hilt to his right side.

"Replenish Calm."

Upon saying those words, Kiba's hilt created another sword blade that had an open diamond shaped tip with a triangle tip on top, and two points at each bottom side.

Karlamine was flabbergasted at the sight of his new blade. Before she could say anything, Kiba held his sword in front of her and had a small black hole appear in the middle of the open diamond of the sword. Suddenly, the black hole started to absorb the flames off of Karlamine's dagger, causing her to widen her eyes in bewilderment.

'Hmph! Last time I had to rely on this many swords was back with the Hollows!'

"Dammit! How many Sacred Gears do you actually have?!" Karlamine asks him in frustration. "Are you a Sacred Gear possessor who takes Sacred Gears from people and use them as your own?!"

"Nope! It's not that I have multiple Sacred Gears, I simply have the ability to make them at my will! I possess Sword Birth! Have you heard of it?! With it, I'm able to create any demonic sword I choose from!"

After removing the flames from Karlamine's dagger, Kiba places his left palm on the ground and summons a spike bed full of swords, making Karlamine jump back and look on in shock at the amount of swords he created on the ground.

"Dammit all!"

Issei took a quick look at the fight between the two Knights and smiled at his friend.

'I figured he can handle himself.'

"Oi!"

Issei shifted his eyes right when he heard Isabela call to him while charging at him with her fist cocked back.

"Never turn away during a fight!"

Issei caught Isabela's fist just before it could come in contact with his cheek, making the latter widen her eyes in surprise at how he was able to catch it while barely looking at her direction.

Giving her a stern glare, Issei grabs onto Isabela's wrist and pulls her towards him. When she got close enough to him, Issei punches her in her left cheek, knocking her back four feet. He then stares at his Boosted Gear.

"Come on… One more boost…"

 _{Boost!}_

"Finally!"

Having boosted enough during his fight with the masked Rook, Issei extends his Boosted Gear embedded hand outwards and conjured a red ball of power from the palm.

 _{Explosion!}_

Isabela goes in to land another punch on Issei. But before she could manage to do that, Issei punches the red orb, making a huge red beam shoot at her at high speed.

"Shit!"

Isabela was able to duck down in time before she could be engulfed by Issei's Dragon Shot. As the beam traveled far enough, the attack blew up a set of trees, followed by an explosion cloud engulfing them.

"What the…" Issei said to himself, confused on how it was able to cause this much damage. "I could've sworn I've held back a lot of power. That looked like it could take down a Queen or two."

Isabela gets up from the grown and looks at Issei with narrowed eyes.

"I can't afford for him to use that attack again. I gotta take him down now!"

Seeing Isabela charge at him again, Issei decided to resort to plan B.

'I was hoping I'd save it for later use against Riser and save energy, but I guess I'll have to use my explosive aura again.'

Issei dodges a punch from her right fist and grabs onto her arm with his left hand. He then opened his right hand and struck her in the stomach lightly with his palm.

"Uh… was that supposed to hurt..?" Isabela asked him with a confused expression, only for Issei to jump back from her and have her notice the black and white magic seal on her belly.

"Not yet!"

 _Snap!_

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOOOM!

"GUAAAAAAAAGH!"

Isabela fell to her knees and held onto her stomach in pain.

"E… Explosive magic?!"

Seeing her unable to get up, Issei took that moment to slowly walk towards her and finish the job. After approaching her close enough, Issei conjures another red orb from his Boosted Gear, this one being smaller than the previous one to avoid using too much power.

When Isabela lifted her head up, she was surprised to see that Issei had softened eyes and a gentle smile.

"You fought well, Isabela," Issei says kindly. "But this is where you retire." Issei cocks his left fist back to punch the orb. "I hope we can see each other again."

Isabela widens her eyes with a light blush that could only be seen on her left cheek because of her mask.

'He's so kind to me… Why..?'

Issei punches the tiny red orb, launching his Dragon Shot at the Rook. Isabela lets out a scream of pain while she's engulfed by his attack, eventually disappearing in a bright light.

Ravel looks on in shock as she witnesses her defeat.

"Isabela!"

" _One of Riser-sama's Rooks retires."_

Issei lets out a breath, glad that he was able to defeat her.

"Why are you being nice to the enemy?"

"Eh?"

Issei turns around to see Koneko with her arms crossed in front of her, and narrowed eyes.

"*Sigh*. Because they're not the ones I'm holding it out against. The one I want to smack some sense into is the Yakitori Bird Brain himself."

Koneko raises an eyebrow at his answer. She then shrugs her shoulders.

"Just don't make a habit of trying to befriend enemies."

Issei chuckled at her response while twirling one of his locks with his right hand in shyness.

He then looks towards his Boosted Gear in thought.

'Oi, Ddraig, do you think I can still boost myself up without going burst?

 _ **{You should be able to without risking it, partner. After all, you've only boosted once during your battle with the three Pawns, and boosted about four times to make a powerful enough Dragon Shot. You shouldn't have to worry about risking a Burst. Besides, you did train very hard with, and without the Boosted Gear, so you're far from risking that happening to you.}**_

Issei nodded his head at his gauntlet.

'Okay. Good to know.'

"Oi! Foot soldier!"

Issei lifts his head up to see Ravel calling to him with a cocky smirk. He raises an eyebrow when he saw her point to her right.

"Just a heads up," Ravel continued. "You may want to look at this."

Issei followed where Ravel was pointing and widened his eyes in shock.

"Buchou! Asia!"

Rias could be seen carrying Asia in her arm while flying down on top of the new school roof. Landing, Rias shoots Riser a glare.

"Dammit!" Issei curses, seeing the three at the rooftop. "Riser's up there too!"

Kiba shares the same narrowed eyes as Issei.

"It looks like he anticipated our move."

* * *

"So, I'm assuming you knew I was planning to attack you directly?" Rias asks Riser as she retracts her Devil wings and keeps Asia behind her.

"Ha! A virgin should never underestimate one with this much experience."

Rias rolls her eyes at his words.

"How comforting. You're as vulgar as ever."

* * *

"The Princess of Ruin, Twilight Healing," Ravel began scanning the Gremory Devils one by one with a smirk on her face, moving on to the rest of them with every shift of her blue eyes. "Priestess of Thunder, Sword Birth, and Boosted Gear, with a rather menacing black and white aura, and the Scale Blade, one of the nine rare trick weapons."

Issei raises an eyebrow when she mentioned her sword.

'She knows of the Scale Blade? And judging from her wording, it seems there are more weapons almost like it.'

In the background, Karlamine widens her eyes in surprise when Ravel mentioned what sword Issei had.

'No way! The Pawn boy has _that_ as his weapon?!'

Ravel lets out a devious giggle before continuing.

"Such grand sounding names when they're all together." She then points a hand at herself. "However, we are Phenexes; immortal birds! And you-"

"Cannot defeat you. Blah blah blah! I get where you're going with this!"

"Yeah," Koneko agrees while glaring at Ravel. "You're sounding like a clichéd villain right now."

Ravel twitches in anger when she heard Koneko call her that.

"Grrrrrr! Don't you two get it?! You're situation here is completely hopeless!"

Issei lets out a sigh before staring back at her with a stern expression.

"I personally wouldn't say that, sister of the Yakitori Bird Brain." Ravel twitches her eyebrow. "Everybody's got a weakness, especially you Phenex birds. You say you're immortal, but really, I find you to be about 80 to 90% immortal, as you can still _die_ , are still weak by Holy and Light powers, and a nit pick from me, you're underestimating us way too much."

Ravel lets out a yell in rage, getting fed up with the Pawn's words.

"Oh yeah?! And exactly _how_ are you Gremory Devils going to defeat my brother, huh?! Beat the living shit out of him until he's out cold?!"

"Yup."

"Ditto."

Ravel stares at them with a flabbergasted look. Her left eye twitching while processing their responses. Deciding that she's heard enough, Ravel sets her angered gaze at the cat girls.

"Ni! Li!"

The cat girls, the one with blue hair, Ni, and the one with red hair, Li, make a meowing sound in response to her.

"It's time you show those two idiots how wrong they are of their current situation!"

In her command, the cat girls let out another meow as the two charge at Issei and Koneko.

Issei wasn't worried, and neither was Koneko. When the former saw Li going for a dive kick at his stomach, he grabs her leg, catching her by surprise, and throws a right hook at her face.

"NYAAAH!"

As Issei's fist makes contact with Li's face, she fell backwards from him and tumbled six feet away from him.

"Hey! How dare you hurt my sister?! Nya!"

Ni went in to hit Issei with a shoulder charge, but was abruptly stopped when she too got punched in the face by Koneko, who was glaring at the cat girls rather darkly.

"Piss off."

The cat girls got up and shot a glare at the two Gremory Devils. Before any of the two could make a move on Issei, a voice cuts them off.

"Move it! He's mine!"

Everyone turns to see Siris in the air, unsheathing her large sword and charges at Issei with her weapon above her head. When she got closer to him, Issei side steps right in time to dodge her slash once she landed in front of him.

Grunting, Siris tries to take him out again with a horizontal slash, only for Issei to jump back from her, dodging that attack.

"Oi! Koneko-chan! Can I leave the cat girls to you?!"

Koneko nods in response while glaring harshly at the cat girls.

"Sure."

Issei smiles at her in response, not being aware of her scowl since her back was facing him.

"You're attention should be on me, Issei-chan!"

"Eh?"

Issei turns back to Siris and raises an eyebrow at the honorific she gave him.

"Chan?"

Siris flinches and shifts her eyes away from him as her cheeks tinge pink.

"N-N-Never mind that and fight! You did promise to fight me too, you know."

Issei blinks at her for a couple of seconds before sighing.

"Yeah. No worries, I remember."

Issei grabs the hilt of his large sword from behind him and unsheathes it. He then holds it in front of him and gets in a fighting position with the blade.

Seeing that he's ready, Siris charges towards Issei and clashes swords with him, beginning her battle with him.

* * *

While Issei and Siris begun their battle with each other, and when Koneko started her fight with Ni and Li, Rias blocked an incoming attack from Riser with her magic shield while Asia took care of any injuries she received from him.

"Wow, he's so strong," Asia said in worry.

"I wish you would make this more entertaining, Rias," Riser says with a sigh. "This is the worst foreplay I've ever had."

Rias makes a "Tch!" sound as she conjures two balls of her demonic power from her hands.

"Play with this!"

Rias launches her projectiles at Riser, aiming for his face, only for the latter to conjure up a large ball of flame to block her oncoming attack, causing a large explosion to erupt at the rooftop.

* * *

"Buchou!"

Issei widened his eyes at the sight of the explosion, worried that Rias may have been hurt.

" _I'm fine Ise,"_ Rias assures him in his communicator. _"Don't worry about me. Focus on the battle at hand."_

"But… Bu-"

" _Don't doubt yourself! I believe in you!"_

"I'm not doubting myself at all!" Issei argued while blocking another slash from Siris, followed by him slashing at Siris. While she did block his attacks, she was backing away due to the force of his attacks.

"I'm worried about you, Buchou!" Issei continues while being on the offensive. "With Riser's regeneration, _and_ the fact that our only healer is at your side, you're playing with fire! No pun intended!"

" _I know, and I'm sorry."_ Issei gains a surprised look at the tone of her voice. _"Just do what you can to defeat your enemies. I'm counting on you; all of you."_

Issei widens his eyes slightly when he heard her hang up the communicator. While blocking Siris horizontal slash, he pushed her away and gritted his teeth in anger.

'Dammit! I can't waste anymore time here!'

Issei then saw Siris attempt to cut him with a vertical slash. Seeing it, he throws his large sword to his left hand and blocks her attack while keeping a firm grip on his hilt.

Ravel, Siris, and even the black haired Bishop widened their eyes at how he blocked the Knight's attack.

"He block Siris' sword," Ravel said in shock.

"With one arm!" Siris finished, looking impressed and surprised.

Siris then widened her eyes a little when she saw him give him a stern stare.

"Sorry, Siris," Issei begins as he reaches his right hand for his Scale Blade. "But I've started to become impatient."

Issei then unsheathes his Scale Blade and raises it above his head, making Ravel, and the others look on at his actions.

"Duel wielding?!" Karlamine asks while blocking an attack from Kiba.

Keeping his stern expression on Siris, Issei slashed his Scale Blade right onto Siris' sword, earning a confused stare from the latter. She eventually found out why he hit her blade when the small scale sized blades began to grip onto her own.

Seeing it do so, Issei pulled his Scale Blade backwards and destroyed Siris' sword, with pieces of her blade still in some of the small blades' grip.

"Shit! It broke!" Siris exclaims as she saw that there was nothing left of her sword but the hilt.

Issei then kicks her in the stomach and lifts his Boosted Gear towards himself, looking at it with narrowed eyes.

"Ddraig! Respond to my feelings on wanting to protect the ones I hold dear and lend me your power!"

 _{Dragon Booster!}_

"That's not enough! Those feelings were for my friends. Now please, respond to my feelings on wanting to save Rias Gremory-sama!"

Green glowing markings form from the top hand of his Boosted Gear.

 _{Dragon Booster! Second Liberation!}_

Upon those words spoken from the Boosted Gear, a tornado of green light began to form around Issei, causing the other Devils to cover their faces as it continued to circle around him.

"Wh… What is this?!" Ravel wondered as she was able to get a glimpse of the green tornado while covering her face with her arms.

After the tornado dispersed, Issei looked on at his Boosted Gear to see that it started changing. An elbow piece with a green gem set on it ejected from the elbow part of the gauntlet, two more gold spikes protruded up next to the original ones from the first liberation, with four more behind the gem embedded on the back of the gauntlet's hand, and one on each side of the gauntlet.

After scanning his Boosted Gear, His eyes widen at the design.

"Wait! I recognize this form!"

Issei began to remember the last time he saw the Boosted gear take on this form.

"That was the same form it took when I matured it from a fingerless gauntlet!"

Issei flips his left arm over to see the two gems on his gauntlet.

'So Ddraig, anything different about this 'Liberation'?'

 _ **{Not really. When the Boosted Gear is in its Second Liberation, you can boost yourself up at a quicker pace than you can in the First Liberation, and the Boosted Gear Gift ability should be more stronger, i.e., be able to transfer much more power than you can in its First Liberation.}**_

'Really?' Issei than blinks with wide eyes as he has an idea. 'Let's test what you just said, Ddraig!'

Sheathing both of his swords, Issei turns to Kiba.

"Oi! Kiba! Unleash your Sacred Gear with all of the power you got!"

"Do what now?!"

Kiba didn't understand why he wanted him to do that at first, but he got the message when he saw him point at his Boosted Gear, understanding what he tends to do.

With a look of determination, Kiba holds his sword in two hands and flips it to where the tip of its blade is facing the ground.

"Sword…"

He then lifts it upwards while staring at the ground with wide eyes of war.

"…BIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRTH!"

As Kiba stabs the sword on the ground, Issei sees that a bunch more swords started to protrude from the ground around him, giving him the cue to play his part.

"Boosted Gear…"

Issei proceeds aim his left fist towards the ground and punch it with all of the strength he has.

"…GIIIIIIIFT!"

POW!

 _{Transfer!}_

At the Boosted Gear's call, a thousand more swords began to protrude around Issei and began to impale the Phenex Devils, causing them all to scream in pain.

The only person who survived the swords unscathed was Ravel Phenex, thanks to her healing factor. As for the rest of them, The black haired Bishop, Karlamine, Siris, Ni, and Li, they were on their way to retirement.

"Dammit…" Karlamine cursed under her breath. "How could we lose?"

As Karlamine began to be surrounded by a bright light, she used her remaining strength to shift her eyes towards Issei, who pulled his fist from the ground and dusted his hoodie off.

'And I never got to challenge the Scale Blade wielder either… Oh well… Maybe another time… If we ever do a rematch.'

The Phenex Devils who got impaled by the swords are now taken out of the game by the light, followed by an announcement from Grayfia.

" _Two of Riser-sama's Pawns, two of his Knights, and one of his Bishops, retire."_

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

Tsubaki stared at what Issei and Kiba have done in astonishment.

"Hyoudou-kun enhanced Kiba-kun's Sword Birth with his evolved Boosted Gear!"

"A gift given to him by the Red Dragon Emperor," Sona added with a nod.

Yoruichi chuckles while smirking at the screen that showed Issei and Kiba.

"Hee hee! Good thing he trained with his Boosted Gear to make it this far. Otherwise, if he tried using Boosted Gear Gift in its First Liberation, there wouldn't be enough swords to take 'em all down."

Yoruichi then sighs to herself with a frown.

'The sad part about it is that the power he achieved through all of that training still wasn't enough for him to achieve Balance Breaker; or at least an incomplete one.'

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

Issei wipes the sweat from his for head and regroups with Kiba and Koneko.

"Alright, what next?" Kiba asks to them while sheathing his sword.

CRACK! BOOM!

The trio of Gremory Devils, and Ravel jumped when they heard a loud cracking sound of thunder, followed by an explosion. When the four turned to the source of the explosion, three of the Devils widened their eyes, two in shock, and one in disbelief.

"No… Impossible…"

" _Riser-sama's Queen retires."_

Upon hearing those words from Grayfia, a confident smirk forms from Issei's lips as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"Holy Hell!" Kiba exclaims as he starts to smile in hope. "Akeno-senpai actually did it!"

"Kick ass!" Koneko shouts with a visible smile.

"No! It can't be!" Ravel shouts with contracted pupils, getting the attention from the three Gremory Devils. "She was our trump card to win! How can she be defeated!"

Ravel then blinks twice in confusion when he heard a Devil chuckle confidently at her. Upon setting her eyes at the source, she was surprised to see Issei looking at her with his trademark confident smirk on his lips.

"Looks like my secret plan worked."

Upon saying those words, everyone's eyes widen in surprise, with Ravel being the most shocked of the Devils.

"You had a secret plan, Issei?" Kiba asked, his surprised stare still on his fellow Devil.

"Yup. And I'm pleased to see it work out in the end."

* * *

~ _ **With Rias, Asia, and Riser~**_

"No! Impossible!" Riser shouts, frustrated at what he heard Grayfia said in the intercom. "My strongest servant, taken down by your Queen?!"

Rias allows a smirk to form on her face while Asia looked down at her friends with a smile and watery eyes.

'I knew you guys could do it.'

"Heh! See what happens when you underestimate us?!" Rias asks Riser, agitating him further. "With all of your servants down, minus Ravel, you might as well give up!"

"NEVER!" Riser retorts as his fiery aura flares up. "Most of my peerage may be wiped out, but that does _NOT_ mean that you can defeat Riser Phenex, for I am _IMMORTAL!"_

"Tch!" Rias conjures up more of her aura. "Just stop it Riser! Do you really believe your own hype _that_ much?"

"I _AM_ THE HYPE!"

Rias rolls her eyes at his outburst and continues to attack him with her aura.

* * *

 _ **~Back to Issei and his friends~**_

"I don't understand!" Ravel shouts at Issei, disbelief visible on her face. "What exactly do you mean by 'your secret plan'?!"

Issei kept her serious stare on her, not at all phased by her yelling.

Kiba and Koneko keep their attention on their friend, as they too wanted to know more about his "secret plan."

"Simple," Issei began. "With Yubelluna being the juggernaut of your team, I knew that she'd be your trump card because of those two bottles of Phenex Tears, which I knew you'd give to her just in case."

"What?!" Ravel's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "You know of our family's hidden treasure?!"

"Of course," Issei answered nonchalantly. "While I was training for ten days, I took some time in each day to study your family and learn about their reputation, their 80 to 90% immortality, their weaknesses, and their special healing tears. It's something I like to call: getting to know your enemy before engaging them in combat."

Everyone stared at Issei with astonished expressions.

"Hot damn!" Kiba said. "I had no idea you took some time off training to learn about the Phenexes."

"Peek-a-boo! Ufufufufu~."

Issei suddenly blushes when a pair of female hands cover his eyes for three seconds before they removed themselves from them. The four Devils turned around and saw that it was Akeno, who waved at Issei, Kiba, and Koneko.

"Akeno-senpai! You don't look injured!" Kiba exclaimed in surprise as he noticed that there wasn't a single scratch on her skin.

"But of course," Ravel's eyes widen in horror when Akeno pulled something from her breast pocket. "All I had to do was use these Phenex Tears on myself, and voila! My injuries were all healed, and I've been given enough power to finish her off. Ufufufu~."

"WHAT?!" While Kiba and Koneko were surprised at Akeno's explanation, Ravel was the most shocked of them all. "But… How did you get a bottle of those?!"

Akeno wraps her arms around Issei's neck and nuzzles her cheek onto his while looking at Ravel.

"Simple. My favorite kouhai here pickpocketed a bottle from Yubelluna while at the same time injuring her, making her use the last bottle she had to heal the injury caused by the cutie. He then secretly gave the bottle to me while whispering in my ear his plan on how to defeat the Bomb Queen."

Ravel takes two steps back from the Gremory Devils, her irises and pupils contracting in fear at how Yubelluna was defeated. She was at a loss of words at this point.

"It's like I said, Ravel," Issei says, snapping the Phenex Devil's attention back to him. "I knew she'd be your trump card because of those Phenex Tears, and that she was the strongest of your group. Because of that, I hatched up a plan to deal with her, and it worked.

Ravel could now be heard shivering, in both anger and in disbelief.

"How long… How long have you had this planned out?!"

Issei lets a confident smirk form from his lips as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"I've had it planned out ever since I found out about your Phenex Tears."

* * *

 _ **~Student Council Room~**_

"BOOM!" Yoruichi shouts as she pounds her fist onto her hand. "That was the exact quote I expected him to say!" She then clasps her hands together having a face of extreme happiness. "Oh Issei! You have no idea how happy I am to have you as my Familiar master!"

While Yoruichi was continuing to shoot praise after praise for Issei, Sona and Tsubaki stared on at the young man, completely flabbergasted at Issei's secret plan.

"To think Hyoudou-san could be quite the strategist…"

"Hyoudou-kun…"

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

"Alright, folks!" Issei says to his team, getting their attention. "We're at the final stretch now! Let's get to the rooftop of the new school building on foot so Riser doesn't blast us in a group and aid Buchou with all of the power we got!"

""Right!"" Kiba and Koneko say in unison.

"Ufufufufu~. Your wish is my command, Sergeant Ise-kun~."

Issei rolled his eyes at her joke.

'Oh, brother.'

With that set, the Gremory Devils began their movement towards the new school building.

"Wait, hold on!" Ravel shouted at the Devils. "Are you guys really going to fight him?! Keep in mind that-"

"Just shut up and watch, Ravel," Issei interrupted, shooting her a stare. "After all, that is what you like to do in the Rating Games, right?"

Ravel takes a step back from his words and slightly widened her eyes at the tone in his voice. She then pouts and looks away from him, not bothering to stop them as the Devils run towards the entrance of the new school building.

When she heard them open the door and close, entering the building, she looked back towards them at the building.

'Jeez. To think the Gremorys would make it this far because of _him_.'

* * *

As the four Gremory Devils entered the building, Issei puts a hand up, signaling them to stop.

"One moment, guys. Promotion: grant me the power of a Queen."

After saying this command, Issei can feel the traits of a Knight, Rook, and Bishop flow through him.

"Alright," Kiba says with a nod. "Now that you're promoted, you ready to get up there and win?"

"Not yet, Kiba," Issei answers. "I still have one more thing to do. I've been thinking about it for a while during our walk here, and I've made up my mind about it."

The three look at Issei with confused expressions.

"Ara? What do you mean, Ise-kun?"

Akeno's question was answered when Issei lifts his Boosted Gear embedded arm towards himself, gems aiming at the ceiling.

"Oi, Ddraig. If you can hear me, speak up. I have something I want to talk about."

 **{I am here.}**

Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno jump a little when they hear Ddraig's voice booming out of the gauntlet. The gems shined bright green with every word he says.

 **{What is it you wish to talk about?}**

Keeping his narrow eyes on the gauntlet, Issei says to Ddraig:

"I want to make a deal."

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Authors Note: Okay! Part one of the Rating Game battle has been complete. I know, I know, I hate cliffhangers as much as you do, but I plan on finishing _The Phenex Bird_ arc in one chapter, so it had to end in a cliffhanger.**

 **Now then, I want to explain why I'm making Issei turn his left arm into a dragon's arm, and no, it's not so I can get Akeno to suck on his fingers. You see, while Issei has managed to weaponize his aura, making explosive traps, and using his new move: Getsuga Tenshou, it's still not enough to have him achieve Balance Breaker, or an incomplete version. Why? Because while he is able to finally use his aura, most its properties are still sealed, with some being loosened. But it's not sealed by Rias… but rather… Someone else…**

 **Anyway, with everyone in the Gremory team fighting the good fight, and everyone still in the game thanks to Issei and his secret plan to take out Yubelluna, the gang can now regroup with Rias and defeat that smug Phenex who believes that he's the hype…**

 _Chibi Issei: "Kill him!"_

 **Also, I've given Issei's ability to detect Reiatsu flames (The ability displayed in chapter 7: _Clash! Devils vs Hollows!_ ) a name: Soul Radar. And, I've given Issei's Scale Blade, along with the other eight trick weapons lore. Which will eventually fold out as the story progresses.**

 **Well… I'm out of stuff to say, so…**

 **Next chapter: "The final confrontation!"; Issei and Riser duke it out in their battle with each other. But, during their fight, something happens to Issei that absolutely _no one_ expected to happen.**

 **Issei's current harem (In no particular order): Yoruichi, Tsubaki, Akeno, Rias, Asia, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubasa, Reya, Ravel, Siris, Isabela, Karlamine, Mira, Marion, Aika, Murayama.**

 **Until next time folks! And trust me, you have _no_ idea how long I've waited to write this _one_ scene in the next chapter. ;)**


	15. Chapter 14: the final confrontation

_**Before we begin…**_

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

" _Intercom; flashback scenes & quotes; Chibi Issei."_

 **{Ddraig speaking from the Boosted Gear and in Issei's Dream world.}**

 _ **{Ddraig speaking to Issei telepathically.}**_

 _{Sacred Gear announcement}_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own High school DXD, nor any elements used in this story. Please support the official release. Thank you.**_

 _ **Right, moving on!**_

* * *

Chapter 14: The final confrontation!

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

Sona, Tsubaki, and Yoruichi were watching Rias fight Riser with her aura while Asia tended to any wound or injury the Phenex Devil caused. Since there was no camera in the new school building, all the three could do right now is wait until the rest of the Gremory Devils arrive on the rooftop and help Rias with whatever energy they had left.

"So, it all comes down to this, huh?" Tsubaki asks Sona and Yoruichi while keeping her stern gaze on the screen that showed Rias fighting Riser.

"Indeed," answered Sona. "Since all of her servants are still in the game, it looks like Rias' victory is assured."

"The only question is: will the strength they have left be enough to take him down?" Yoruichi follows up, eyes closed. "All we can do is wait and see…"

Yoruichi opens her hazel eyes and narrows them at the screen.

"…As we witness the final showdown…"

 _ **~HIGH SCHOOL DXD: THE MASKED DRAGON EMPEROR~**_

 _ **~PHENEX BIRD ARC FINALE~**_

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield; rooftop~**_

Rias was panting heavily as she blasted another shot of her demonic power at Riser. Her body was all bruised up with mild burns due to some of Riser's attacks being able to hit her while doing however she can to deflect the majority of them. Her school blazer is gone, leaving nothing but a torn up shirt that exposed her right breast.

"Hang in there, Buchou!" Asia says to her while she was healing her wounds.

"You might as well resign, darling," Riser suggests with a confident smirk. "Riser can tell that you're unable to withhold any more of my attacks."

Rias clenches her teeth in rage as she conjures up more of her demonic power.

"Withhold _this_!"

Rias shot her attack directly at Riser's face, causing him to stumble backwards.

But Rias knew she wasn't done yet. Even if it was a direct hit, thanks to Riser's healing factor, he was able to keep balance and shoot a glare at the Gremory Devil while the right side of his face was reforming from his flames.

"You don't get it yet, do you?" Riser asks impatiently as he hovers his eyes towards Asia, making the latter shiver in fear. "What a lovely Bishop you have. Refuse to resign, and she and your other servants will only get hurt!"

FWOOM! BAM!

"GUAAAAAH!"

Right after he threatened Rias, Riser was hit on his left side by a large black crescent modeled aura that had a white outlining circling it. After getting hit, Riser clenches his left side and eventually found out he was still in pain.

"What the Hell…"

As soon as he turned his head towards where he got hurt, his eyes widened in shock to see that the black and white aura was attached to his left side, leaving his injury caused by the crescent still visible.

"Wha… What is this?!" Riser asks, disbelief visible in his voice. "This aura's preventing my regeneration to heal me!"

Upon further inspection at the aura, His eyes widen further when he recognizes its color pattern, bringing back memories of when he went to the Human world to see Rias.

"If _anyone_ threatens to harm Buchou, or _any_ of my friends, then I will show _no_ mercy!"

Riser, Rias, and Asia blinked when they heard a familiar voice from behind the latter two. Upon turning to the source, mixed reactions occurred. Riser held narrowed wide eyes towards the man who was accompanied with his friends, while the other two held wide eyes and smiles.

"You're all here!" Asia exclaims, being as happy as a kid getting treats.

In front of Rias and Asia was Issei Hyoudou, who was wearing the confident smirk that everyone has grown fond of during their ten days of training. Behind him, were Rias' Queen, Akeno, her Rook, Koneko, who was actually smiling this time, and her Knight, Kiba, who was prepared for anything.

Breaking the silence, Issei lifts his Boosted Gear embedded hand up and gives Rias and Asia a slight wave in hello.

"Yo."

Rias and Asia's eyes soften in his direction.

"Ise… Akeno… Kiba-kun… Koneko-san… I can't believe you all made it."

Everyone nods to Rias in agreement while smiling.

"Of course we have, Buchou," Kiba says. "We've trained hard for this game, and we didn't let it go to waste."

"That's right," Akeno adds while giggling. "Besides, it was all thanks to Ise-kun that we're all able to make it here in one piece."

"Yup," Koneko says in agreement.

"Oh, Bravo!"

Everyone then turns their attention to Riser, who was still holding onto his side in pain due to the aura still stuck onto him, with the majority of it slowly fading away.

"The gang's all here! So what?! Just because you have everyone with you, it doesn't mean you can take down the immortal bird that is Riser Phenex!"

Everyone, with the exception of Asia, glared daggers at the Phenex Devil. While Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba's glares were full of rage, Issei's was more calm.

Issei's attention was now on the aura that's still stuck to Riser, raising an eyebrow at what it's doing to him.

'Interesting… It appears that my aura is preventing Riser's wounds to heal.' He then saw that the remainder of the aura disperse, finally allowing Riser's wounds to heal. 'And it seems that it can only stay stuck onto him for a limited amount of time.'

After thinking about the situation, Issei nods to himself and turns towards his fellow Devils A serious expression is now on his face.

"Everyone get off the rooftop. I'm fighting him alone."

Rias and her servants widen their eyes in surprise when they heard Issei tell them this.

"What?! Are you crazy Ise?! If we're fighting Riser, we're fighting him together!"

"Buchou, from reading your Reiatsu, you barely have any magic power left to keep fighting," Issei argues. "No offense, but because of that, you'll only get in the way. Asia's Twilight Healing may heal injuries, but it can't replenish power."

Rias takes a step back after hearing her Pawn's argument. He was right. With every attack she launched at Riser, she did feel herself getting fatigue with every strike she made.

Issei then sets his attention to the other Gremory Devils.

"As for you guys, you all did your part, now, it's time to do mine."

"B-B-… But, Ise-"

"Come now, Rias."

Rias and crew turn their heads towards a smirking Riser.

"The one people call 'Issei Hyoudou' is a big boy. After all, he is this generation's Red Dragon Emperor."

Before anyone could respond, the Gremory Devils look to see that Asia was healing all of the minor injuries Issei had.

"Asia…"

"You're so brave, Issei-san," Asia compliments, tears threatening to leave her eyes. "You're willing to fight Riser alone so you can save everyone else the trouble of getting burned."

Issei blinked at Asia's words, but then his eyes softened as he gives her a gentle smile.

"Of course, Asia. Besides, I just found out a way to defeat him… Kinda."

As soon as Asia finished up healing his minor injuries, Issei points to the rest of the Gremory Devils while keeping his eyes on Asia.

"Asia, while you get off of the rooftop with our friends, can you get them patched up?"

"Y-Yes, of course," Asia replies quickly as she rushes towards them.

After everyone, except for Issei, and Asia since she hasn't learned to fly yet, get their Devil wings sprouted from their back, Rias looks at Issei with softened eyes.

"Please be careful out there, Ise. You know what he's capable of."

"We're counting on you, Issei-senpai," Koneko adds in agreement. "Don't screw this up."

Understanding, Issei nods his head at his friends and then sets his attention on Riser.

"You can count on me, guys."

* * *

 _ **~Student Council Room~**_

"Hyoudou-kun's actually going to fight Riser-sama alone!" Tsubaki exclaims with eyes of horror.

"While he is brave for letting everyone else recover while he takes care of him by himself, it's suicidal," Sona adds with narrowed eyes.

"Well now, I wouldn't say that."

Sona and Tsubaki turn their heads to Yoruichi when they heard her say otherwise. Sona had a raised eyebrow, while Tsubaki's eyes widened a little.

"What makes you so certain about that?" Sona asks Yoruichi. "I mean, no offense, but while Hyoudou-san is indeed very strong, and is very intelligent, especially with his strategy with the Phenex Tears, I doubt he'll be able to take down someone who's injuries can heal as soon as they appear."

Yoruichi let's out a sigh as she sets her sights on the Sitri Devil.

"Did you _not_ notice how Issei's aura from his Getsuga Tenshou stuck onto Riser?"

Sona raised another eyebrow at her question, but soon widened her eyes slightly when she started remembering how Riser got attacked after threatening Rias to resign. She then places a hand on her chin in thought.

"Now that you've mentioned it, Hyoudou-san's aura _did_ stick onto Riser like glue. Why?"

Yoruichi lets out a giggle while smirking.

"Well, if you paid further attention to it, the aura was preventing Riser's healing factor to do its job."

The Sitri Devils were surprised at her further explanation.

"His aura really did that?" Tsubaki asks.

"Yup!" Yoruichi replies happily. Her look then turned serious as she sets her gaze on the screen that showed Issei and Riser having a stare down.

"Now onto Riser himself. While his healing factor is very impressive, and his fighting is on par, he doesn't stand a chance. He's an over-confident scumbag who only thinks for himself, and overestimates himself way too much. And on top of that, the Phenexes are only 80 to 90% immortal, since they can still die."

Sona blinks at the Nekomata's explanation and keeps her stare on her for a few seconds before turning her gaze back to the game.

"I'll hold you to your opinion onto the outcome of this game."

While Sona and Yoruichi watched on, Tsubaki kept her stare on Issei as her eyes began to soften.

'Hyoudou-kun… Please be safe…'

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

After the Gremory Devils left Issei alone with Riser on his request, they begin to watch the two stare at each other while still in flight. While doing so, the group noticed that Ravel was next to them with her Phenex wings out, watching the battle between her older brother and the Pawn of Rias Gremory.

Ravel has heard of plenty about Issei from the folks at the underworld. She's heard of how he was able to take down a horde of Hollows, send one to the lowest depths of the underworld, and defeat and kill one in the Menos Grande Gillian class all by himself.

That information was amazing to her, but what she was now wondering is that will the strength used to kill such a Hollow be enough to take down her brother.

"Buchou, shall I take her down here and now?"

Ravel jumped when she heard Akeno ask Rias this question while conjuring up her thunder, her glare aimed at the Phenex Devil.

"Don't waste your breath, Queen of Rias-sama!" Ravel retorted with a tick mark. "I'm only watching your fellow Devil fight my Onii-sama! That's all!"

"Really?"

Ravel's stare was now on Koneko. She scowls at the Rook, remembering how she called her a slut because of how she was serving Riser, and that she called her a clichéd villain when she told them that her team can't be defeated.

"How do we know you're not going to help your Yakitori brother by blasting at Issei-senpai when he's dominating him?" Koneko asks while giving her a scowl of her own.

"I'm going to do no such thing!" Ravel countered in a harsh tone. "I'll have you know that I watch most of the games when I'm here!"

Koneko kept her glare on her for five more seconds before setting her attention back to Issei and Riser.

"I've got my eye on you."

Ravel's brow twitched when Koneko said that, but decided to keep quiet and watch the two Devils at the rooftop.

"I will admit this, Hyoudou, you've got some huge balls for wanting to fight Riser by yourself!" Riser says to Issei with a smirk. "But just because you've got a tough act on, it doesn't mean that you have a chance to defeat me! Do you wanna know why?! Simple: You're just a Low-class Devil attempting to take on one of a higher status!"

Issei's scowl grows as he mentions class.

"Ha ha ha! Why do you even bother fighting me?!" Riser continues. "We all know that you're going to fail! It doesn't matter what you do! Low-class trash like you will _never_ defeat an almighty Devil like Ris-"

ZIP! STAB!

Riser's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when he saw Issei approach him very closely in a blink of an eye. Issei's face was very close to Riser's, forcing the latter to make eye contact with him.

"G… Gu… Guah..."

Riser tried to form words from his mouth, but he was unable to talk. After a few seconds, he widens his eyes when he realizes that Issei has stabbed his Scale Blade through his neck. Issei made sure to maneuver the small blades that pierced his neck and add a tiny bit of his aura to them to make sure Riser's in pain.

"Guaaah!"

It was working. As Riser felt the small blades claw at the inside of his neck, he felt like his head was about to get sawed off. He started tasting his blood from his mouth due to some of it from his neck getting in there.

Everyone else, including Sona, Tsubaki, and Yoruichi from the Student Council room, looked on at the scene in awe. They were able to see the cold, icy stare Issei was giving to Riser while keeping a firm grip on his Scale Blade.

"Is that how it is to you?" Issei asks Riser in a dark tone, making the latter set his blue eyes on the Pawn. "Do you honestly think you can take me down just because you're a higher class than me?"

Riser was unable to respond due to the sword stuck in his throat, making Issei continue to speak while keeping his glare on him.

"Listen well, Phenex, just because I'm a Low-class Devil, it doesn't mean I can't take you down. Talk all you want about being immortal and how you're an almighty Phenex. Personally, I don't give a fuck who you are! What I do know is that Rias-sama doesn't want to marry someone who, in my opinion, is a sorry, pathetic excuse for a husband; Devil or not!"

Riser's brow constantly twitched at the words Issei was saying to him. Every time he tried to respond, he'd cough up more blood due to the small blades of Issei's sword clawing at the inside of his neck.

"I'm not going to sound like that I know how modern Devil politics work, but this battle isn't about class," Issei continued. "This is a battle about who will be the last one standing. To Hell with class, reputation, and even the powers we have! The only way we're going to tell which one of us will win is if we carry on with this fight!"

Having finished up his speech, Issei removed his Scale Blade from Riser's throat and jumped away from him. After he did that, he watched Riser to see him holding onto his neck with both hands while coughing violently on one knee.

After taking a few breaths from his coughing, Riser got up on both feet and shot a glare at Issei, who was ready for anything.

"So… You really think class doesn't matter in this case?"

Issei shakes his head in response, earning a chuckle from the Phenex Devil.

"Very well. Riser will stick with your saying on how this battle will play for now. But know that I still believe that you can never take down a Phenex. If you're willing to prove me wrong, then I'm happy to accommodate you!"

Issei gets into a fighting position with his scale blade while keeping his stern stare on Riser.

"Bring it on, Phenex bird," Issei responds. "Bring it on."

Issei and Riser let out a battle cry as the two charge at each other. Issei notices that Riser was aiming his fist toward his gut. As the two were three inches close, Issei uses Shunpo to dodge his punch and slash at his back, earning a roar of pain from Riser.

While the slash did hurt Riser, and a small amount of blood did spurt from the cut and claw marks, the injury was immediately healed by his regeneration. However, Kiba made a discovery on how it was healed while watching the two battle.

"Riser's injury from Issei's Scale Blade took longer to heal than the ones from your attacks, Buchou."

"But of course," Rias replies while keeping her eyes on the two fighting each other, with Issei and Riser switching from offense to defense every five seconds. "The Scale Blade is one of the nine trick weapons. These particular swords not only have certain special transformations and abilities, but they are also able to harm Devils without Holy and Light properties. I think that could be the reason why the slash from the Scale Blade took longer to heal."

Ravel nodded her head in agreement, as she too has heard about the rare nine trick weapons.

Riser turned around to face Issei after recovering from the latter's attack. He then notices that his Scale Blade was now engulfed in his black and white aura.

"Heh! You might as well get rid of that aura, boy! Riser is fully aware of what it could do to me!" He then points towards Issei's gauntlet. "Same goes for your Boosted Gear! It can double your power every ten seconds and can transfer power to your buddies!"

Issei keeps his stare on the Phenex Devil, not at all phased by his words.

"I don't need you to tell me how to fight! Getsuga…"

Issei lifts his aura engulfed weapon above his head and then slashes it downwards.

"…Tenshou!"

"It's no use!"

Ravel and the Gremory Devils look on to see how big the black crescent with a white outlining was, amazed with what he can do with his aura. As for Koneko, she watched the aura with the same eyes she had when she first witnessed her senpai's Getsuga Tenshou

As a vertical shaped crescent rushed towards Riser, he dodges to his left, smirking at how easy it was to dodge such an attack.

"Heh! Like dodging a boulder!"

SHFF!

"!"

Issei appears behind Riser at the speed of his Shunpo, surprising the latter!

'Shit! It's his promotion! But the speed is much faster than a Knight's and Queen's combined!'

"Don't be distracted by how you were able to dodge it easily, Riser."

SLASH!

Issei cuts off his legs with a horizontal strike of his Scale Blade. Blood spurts from Riser's stubs for two seconds before his regeneration began to make him new legs. Issei took that chance to punch the Phenex Devil's skull with a downward punch from his left fist, slamming his face on the ground with a loud thud.

Issei then jumps away from Riser in case he was planning to fry him while on the ground, keeping his stare on Riser.

After his legs were reconstructed, Riser gets up from Issei's punch and tries to keep balance on the rooftop. After getting his balance, Riser looks at Issei, or more particularly, his Scale Blade.

"You sly Devil," Riser says with gritted teeth. "Ravel did tell me that you wield one of the nine trick weapons that can harm a Devil without the use of Holy and Light powers. If you didn't have that sword with you, then this victory would go to Riser."

Issei rolls his eyes at the Phenex Devil's statement.

"Really? Is that how you see it?" Issei asks as he sheathes his weapon and puts his fists up. "Okay then, let's put that to the test."

"With pleasure!"

Issei stood his ground as Riser charges at him with his Phenex wings sprouted from his back. As he got closer, Riser aims his fist towards Issei's face, only for the latter to dodge to the right.

Seeing that he dodged it, Riser attempts to counter with a backhand. Seeing it, Issei grabbed his fist and threw his own at Riser, punching him in the face.

Riser spun around from the impact of his fist, but was able to stop himself and attempted to kick Issei in the stomach. Issei dodges and throws a punch towards Riser's face, only for the latter to dodge the punch. It was rinse and repeat with their strikes, Issei dodging and blocking his punches and kicks while taking some blows, and Riser, doing the same.

After dodging another attack from Issei, Riser grabs onto his arm and attempts to break it.

"Now I gotcha!"

Riser then lets out a yelp when Issei sweeps his right leg across Riser's, causing him to fall over and let go of his arm. While he was still airborne during his fall, Issei grabs him by the collar of his shirt and balls his right hand into a fist, slamming it hard into Riser's gut.

"BWAAAAH!"

Riser spat out a small amount of blood due to the impact of Issei's punch. As Riser sees his blood fall on the ground, his eyes start to develop rage.

But before he could do, or say anything, Issei removes his fist and opens his hand to where the palm can be shown. He then proceeds to strike Riser in the chest, and stomach multiple times while keeping a good grip on his collar. While he was hitting him with his palms, Riser didn't pay attention to the black and white seals being planted on the areas he's attacking.

'Okay, hopefully that's enough seals.'

Nodding to himself, Issei kicked Riser in his stomach hard enough to knock him away from him by six feet.

As soon as Riser gets back up from the kick, Issei snaps his fingers and watches the magic happen.

As he did so, Riser notices the black and white seals on his torso glow.

"What the fu-"

BOOM! BOOM! BA-BA-BA-BOOM!

"GUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Riser screams in pain as his body becomes engulfed by the explosive aura from the seals.

"Onii-sama!"

Ravel's eyes widen in fear as she sees her brother suffer the explosive attacks from Issei's aura, the same aura that she witnessed taking on the from of a skull from behind Issei earlier at the club room.

"Ara ara! Ise-kun's explosive magic must've caused a great deal of damage for Riser to scream this loud," Akeno comments while staring on at the sight of the explosion.

Kiba nods in agreement.

"But whether or not that's enough to finish him off is what we have yet to find out."

While Kiba and Akeno were watching with narrowed eyes, Rias, Asia, and Koneko looked on at the scene with softened eyes.

"Ise…"

"Issei-san…"

"Issei-senpai…"

While the explosives have stopped going off around Riser, the black and white aura was still roaming around the area, leaving his current condition unknown until the aura clears up.

After ten seconds of waiting, Issei and the Devils watching see that the aura has evaporated, revealing a bleeding Riser Phenex.

Riser was painting heavily as he could feel pain all over. When he scanned his eyes down his body, his eyes widened to the size of saucers when he saw how badly damaged he was, thanks to some of the aura stuck onto him like glue.

But what made Riser angry, was the fact that blood, _his_ blood, was all over the rooftop due to the damage he took from Issei's explosives.

As Riser slowly gets up from Issei's magic attacks, he still kept his eyes on the injuries the black and white aura prevented his healing factor to heal. His eyes widen in anger, followed by grinding teeth of rage as he witnesses his blood covering his body.

"Blood… _My_ noble blood, spilt by the sheer luck of reincarnated, Low-class trash?!" Riser clenches his fist as he becomes more angry by the second. "And the fact that this was this particular one's second time spilling it… with the first time being back when I first saw him… is starting to PISS RISER OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!"

Everyone, minus Issei winced when they heard Riser's blood curling scream of rage.

'Oh no…' Ravel says in her thoughts. 'This is not going to end well.'

Riser points an angry finger at Issei while glaring at him with eyes of fury, making the latter slightly widen his eyes.

"YOUR INSOLENCE HAS COST YOU YOUR LIFE, HYOUDOU! I'LL TURN YOU INTO ASHES, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU, NOR YOUR PRECIOUS FRIENDS CAN DO TO STOP MEEEEEEEE!"

With a roar of anger, Riser sprouts his Phenex wings and takes flight above him.

"He's gonna what?!"

Rias became shocked at Riser's declaration. She, along with everyone, including Ravel, could not believe that he would go this far just to claim Rias as his bride.

'Dammit, Onii-sama,' Ravel says in her thoughts while glaring at Riser. 'If you kill him on purpose, you'll be disqualified, and you'll ruin your reputation!"

As soon as he got high enough in the sky, Riser's body becomes engulfed by his Phoenix flames, taking on the form of a large bird.

"Behold, Hyoudou! This is the power of the Phenex family! The flames of the immortal bird burns within me! The Hellfire of my clan will SCORCH YOU TO DUST!"

Issei kept his narrowed eyes on Riser while clenching his left fist.

"You think I'm scared of you, Riser?!" Issei asks. "Sorry, but that fantasy of yours is shut down!"

Issei then shifted his eyes towards his gauntlet.

'Ddraig, I think this is the appropriate time to use it, don't you think.'

 _ **{I agree. But remember, you only have ten seconds in that form. When the timer's up, you will become fatigue due to how much stamina it takes. Also, while it will protect you from the flames of the Phoenix, the armor will get scratched up by them, so be careful, partner.}**_

Issei nods his head in understanding while keeping his stare on Riser, who was laughing uncontrollably after Issei told him that he wasn't scared.

"Even so, what do you hope to do?! Like I said before, you're nothing but Low-class trash who has mocked me for the last time!"

"Hmph! Simple, Riser! I'm going to use the power of a dragon!"

Riser raises an eyebrow at him while staying quiet, allowing Issei to continue.

"I've used my ten days wisely to be prepared for the likes of you, but unfortunately, I believe it won't be enough. That's why I've decided to do something back in the new school building in order to finish you off!"

Issei unsheathes his Scale Blade and places his Boosted Gear embedded arm in front of him with his palm facing towards him.

"I was aware of what would happen to me if I did this, but as long as it means I can save Rias-sama, that's all that matters to me!"

Issei proceeds to ball his left hand into a fist and punch upwards.

"Shine! Overboost!"

Upon saying those words, the gems on his Boosted Gear glow bright green.

 _{Welsh Dragon! Overbooster!}_

After hearing Ddraig announce this, everyone, plus the three girls watching in the Student Council room, widen their eyes when they see parts of a red armor in the same shade as the Boosted Gear appear out of thin air and piece itself together onto his body. It started at the chest region, then to his arms, and now to his legs.

After those parts of the red armor formed, with a green gem in the middle of the chest plate, and one on each knee, arm, and elbow, the armor took on the shape and motif of a dragon, with a gauntlet on each hand, and boots looking like dragon legs and feet. On the back of the armor, there appeared to be a pair of what appeared to be jet thrusters for flying, and a dragon-like tail attached to the tailbone of the armor.

"This is the power of the Red Dragon Emperor!" Issei announces as the helmet for the armor appears on his head. The helmet had two green eyepieces for Issei to see through and two golden horns attached to the front mouth of the helmet.

"Balance Breaker! Boosted Gear: Scale Mail!"

"Balance Breaker?!" Rias wonders with a shocked expression.

"Amazing…" Ravel says as she stares at Issei's armor. "This is the Boosted Gear's Balance Breaker…"

"How did Ise obtain this form..?"

Rias jumps when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turns her head to see Akeno looking at her with softened eyes.

"I think I can explain that, Rias."

 _~Flashback~_

 _ **{So, you've decided on making a sacrifice?}** Ddraig asks aloud for the Gremory Devils to hear. **{You sure you want to do this?}**_

" _Yes, I do," Issei replies, earning gasps from Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko. "Are you in, or out."_

 _ **{Like I said, I will grant you a power worthy of your sacrifice, if you do this, your left arm will permanently be that of a Dragon's. Can you handle that?}**_

 _Issei nods his head in reply._

" _Is there a way for me to transform the arm back in its human form?"_

 _ **{Yes, there is. Because your arm will be that of a Dragon's, you're technically turning yourself into a Humanoid Dragon. However, it will take a very long time for you to take control over your arm's transformation.}**_

 _After letting this information sink in, Issei gives Ddraig another nod._

" _Alright, let's get to it."_

 _~Flashback end~_

Rias and Asia were taken back by Akeno's explanation, with Rias being the most surprised.

"Ise did this for me?" Rias asks as her eyes soften at the armored Issei, tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"Oh, Issei-san…" Asia began while having a sad expression. "To think that you'd go this far…"

[Play song: Bleach OST: Lucifers dance C]

The Devils continue to watch the battle between Issei and Riser. Issei's thrusters started spewing a green flame as he began to take flight towards Riser.

 _ **{Remember, ten seconds.}**_

'Got it. Thanks.'

When he got close enough to Riser, Issei opened up his left hand and conjured a Dragon Shot in the size of a boulder. As soon as he punched the orb, a large laser beam shot towards Riser.

 _{Ten!}_

"Shit!"

Riser barely dodged the huge red laser beam. While he did dodge it, the Dragon Shot did scratch him on his shoulder and cheek, but his regeneration took care of that.

Growling, Riser attacks Issei with a shoulder charge, launching him towards the top of the rooftop and making him roll backwards on it.

 _{Nine!}_

Issei let's out a groan as he gets up from Riser's shoulder charge. Balancing himself, he turns his head towards him to see that Riser was giving him a scowl.

"I've never seen speed and power like this! Just who the fuck do you think you are, Hyoudou?!"

"Hmph! I'm the man who's going to kick your ass and save Rias-sama! That's who I am!"

 _{Eight!}_

Riser lets out another growl at Issei's response.

"You keep saying that! Wait until I crush that hope, Low-class scum! If you weren't hiding behind that armor, you'd be scorched into oblivion!"

Issei deadpans from behind the mask of his helmet.

'Is he seriously bringing the 'If you hadn't done this _'_ thing again?'

 _{Seven!}_

Shrugging it off, Issei takes out a black box and opens it. He then proceeds to grab an object from the box that the people watching him were unable to see and tosses the box to the side, keeping whatever object he had inside of his left fist.

After seeing Riser charge at him with a flame engulfed fist cocked back, Issei flew towards him with his jets and cocked his left fist back to punch him. As the two got close enough, they exchange blows. Issei's fist punched Riser's face, and Riser's punched Issei's.

Due to the powerful force from Riser's punch, and that it was engulfed in flames, Issei spat out some blood as he flew back from Riser to get some space.

 _{Six!}_

Seeing Issei spit out this much blood, Riser let's out a chuckle.

"You're done!"

BA-BUMP!

"BLAAAARGH!"

Riser suddenly spits out a large amount of blood and starts to clench his cheek in pain.

"Th… This pain… It burns! Hyoudou didn't even use his aura nor his Scale Blade to hurt me! What the Hell was that?!"

After setting his sights on Issei, Riser widens his eyes in disbelief when he saw a silver object dangling from Issei's left hand.

 _{Five!}_

"What the fuck?! IS THAT A CROSS?!"

Everyone else, plus Sona, Tsubaki, and Yoruichi from the Student Council room, share the same bewildered expression as Riser had when they see the cross.

"WHAT?! How the Hell did he even bring it with him in the game?!" Ravel wondered aloud, not believing what she was seeing.

"Um…"

Everyone's eyes, minus Issei and Riser's, were now on Asia as she raised her hand.

"Issei-san asked if it was alright to bring the cross in the black box with him, and I allowed him to."

Ravel widens her eyes again at her explanation.

"I see. And it appears that the box he carried it around with was one that blocks its Holy aura from reaching him."

Rias, Asia, Koneko, and Akeno then look to see Kiba nodding to himself.

"Well, that explains how he got it when he showed it to us after making the sacrifice."

"Do you understand now, Riser?!" Issei asks while holding out the cross in front of him. "No matter how powerful you are, You're nothing compared to the cross I'm holding in my hand, nor are you able to withstand _any_ Holy and Light powers!"

 _{Four!}_

"Impossible!" Riser exclaims with wide eyes. "A Devil can't hold a cross and still be unscathed! Not even your dragon armor can protect you from it's Holy power!"

As he was puzzling on how Issei was able to hold the cross and still be okay, Riser's eyes widen further when he took a closer look at his arm.

"No! Wait! You gave that dragon your own arm, didn't you?!"

 _{Three!}_

"That's right!" Issei replied as he started walking closer to him with the cross out in front of him, making Riser slowly back away from him. "And I'll use the power I got from the sacrifice to take you down!"

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

"Holy shit," Yoruichi says aloud with an impressed expression. "That explains how he was able to obtain an incomplete version. I didn't think he'd do that."

While Sona looked on at the scene with a surprised expression, Tsubaki was the most shocked of the three. She had no idea Issei would turn his arm into that of a dragon's just to get the power necessary to defeat Riser. Just seeing such sacrifice to save his master made her place a hand over her heart while her softened eyes remained glued onto the armor embedded Issei.

'Hyoudou-kun…'

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

"I still can't get over how he gave up his own arm to save you, Buchou," Asia said as tears were rolling down her cheeks. "I really do hope there's a way to make it look like the old one."

Rias softens her eyes and begins to pet Asia's head in a gentle matter.

"Don't worry, Asia. Once this is all over, I'll look into that." Her eyes then shift to Issei as tears start to leave her eyes too. "I'll also have a word with him about risking his life like this again."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Riser asks as he continues to back away from Issei. "After what you've done, you'll never be the same again!"

 _{Two!}_

"Heh! I was never the same to begin with," countered Issei. "I've literally went from human to Devil. What makes you think that me turning into a partial Humanoid Dragon will phase me?!"

 _{One!}_

"As long as I save Rias from marrying you, that's all that matters to me!"

Rias widens her eyes and blushes a light shade of red when he mentioned her.

"She, along with everyone else I hold dear in my heart are worth _any_ price!"

Issei then lets out a battle cry as he charges at Riser with the fist carrying the cross cocked back. As he gets closer to him, he gets ready to throw his punch at the Phenex Devil.

 _{Time's up!}_

[End song]

"!"

SHATTER!

Issei expression turns to shock when his Scale Mail suddenly shattered like glass, leaving nothing covered but his left arm. Feeling the strength fade away from his body due to lack of stamina, Issei fell from the sky and crash-landed on the rooftop, all while keeping the cross and his Scale Blade in a tight grip.

Everyone watching him has become shocked when they saw that Issei lost his armor. Even Ravel was hoping that he would keep it on for longer and take down his idiot brother.

* * *

 _ **~Issei's Dream world~**_

 **{Unfortunately, you've ran out of time.}**

"Dammit! I was so close too!"

Issei looks up to Ddraig while clenching his left fist.

"What do you want me to pay you put the armor back on? An eye or two?! If that's what it takes, I'll turn my eyes into that of a dragon's as well!"

 **{I'm sorry, but this is all I can do.}**

Hearing this made Issei narrow his eyes towards the road of his Dream world.

"Dammit all! I've gotten so strong with my aura and combat skills too! I still can't believe it's not enough!"

 **{Partner, when I took back the armor, I released a very small amount of power into the gem. You'll only have it temporary. Because of that, I don't know if it'll be enough to to counter the Yakitori's regenerative capabilities, so use it wisely.}**

Issei nods at Ddraig with a stern expression as his consciousness returns to the real world.

* * *

 **~Rating Game battlefield~**

"Count on it, Ddraig…" Issei breaths out as he slowly gets up to his knees. "I refuse to give up now…"

"Aww, that's too bad," Riser says as he walks towards Issei. "It looks like someone lost their armor."

"Ise!"

Rias and crew, plus Ravel look on to see Issei struggling to get up.

'Shit! You weren't kidding when you said that the incomplete Balance Breaker takes a toll on my stamina…'

Issei finally managed to get up on his feet, keeping the cross and his Scale Blade in a firm grip.

"!"

Issei looks up towards Riser with wide eyes as the latter grabbed him by the shoulders.

"I don't think so!"

BAM!

"GUAAAAH!"

Rias and her servants let out a gasp as they witness Riser kneeing Issei in the stomach, followed by Issei vomiting a large amount of blood on the top of the rooftop. Riser then punches Issei's face and sends him crashing to the ground, making a small crater due to the impact. Issei tried to get up, but found himself unable to.

'Dammit… I… Can't move…'

"ISSEI-SAN!"

As soon as the Gremory Devils landed on the ground and retracted their wings Asia ran as fast as she could to tend to Issei's injuries. But before she could get any closer, Asia notices a ball of flame coming right at her. Luckily, Kiba was able to get her out of the way in time with the use of his Knight speed.

"Fuck off!"

The Devils turn their heads towards Riser and widen their eyes to see that he now has a crazed look.

"Take one step near the Pawn, and I'll burn you alive!"

Ravel started to tense at how her brother was behaving. She started sweating bullets since he sounded like he was not fooling around.

'Oh man… Onii-sama's lost it.'

Riser begins to chuckle evilly as he grabs Issei by the collar of his hoodie.

"You see! You're nothing more than a Low-class infant! You don't even have the right to _challenge_ Riser Phenex!"

Riser notices out of the corner of his eye that Akeno was conjuring her lightning, and Kiba had his sword unsheathed, making him aim his flame engulfed hand at them while holding Issei in front of them.

"No. One. Move!" he threatens them, seeing that they're five feet away from him and Issei. "Just make a single scratch on me or attempt to save him, and I'll turn the little shit to ash!" He then turns his psychotic stare towards Asia, who got behind Rias after seeing the evil in his eyes. "And trust me, little Bishop, _no_ amount of your healing will fix him up when Riser's done! Any deaths that occur during a Rating Game are considered accidents anyways!"

"Not unless you kill them on purpose…"

Riser flinches when he heard a voice tell him that and turns to Issei. Upon eye contact, Riser widens his eyes at how he's still conscious.

"The only time it's considered an accident is when you've used too much power on your Rating Game opponent and didn't realize it until it was too late…" Issei continues as he glares at Riser, still holding onto his sword while he dropped the cross at the crater. "What you're doing is intentionally killing me so you can finally get what you want… It's sickening… I didn't think you'd go this far just to have your way… Murderer…"

Riser' pupils contract as he, along with everyone in the game, and the three girls in the Student Council room, heard what Issei called him.

Riser begins to sweat as his breathing became faster and heavier when he hears the word 'murderer' in Issei's voice in his head. The word being said by the Pawn continued being repeated to him like a broken record.

" _Murderer… Murderer… Murderer… Murderer…_ _Murderer… Murderer… MURDERER!_ _"_

Riser's face morphs into fear, wanting to get Issei's voice out of his head.

"Shut up… Shut up… SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"

Riser cocks his right fist back and begins to conjure up a large amount of fire from his fist, intending to finish him off with it.

"ISEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Rias attempted to rescue him from Riser, only for the Phenex Devil to halt her with his glare as he continued to conjure his flames into his fist, the ball getting bigger and bigger every second.

"Stay the fuck back, bitch!" Riser spat at her. "Unless one of your other servants want to be next!"

Rias gasps when he threatened to burn one of her servants after Issei. She wanted to help out so badly and make sure all of her servants live, but at the same time, she didn't want to resign.

"Onii-sama, that's enough!" Ravel shouts out. "Just leave him alone and let him retire! He fought well!"

"And let him get away with mocking me and shedding my blood too many times?! Not a chance!"

Riser then sets his glare on Ravel.

"And don't even think about becoming a traitor and save him! I will not allow _anyone_ to save this boy!"

Riser then pays attention back to Issei as he conjures more of his flames. His flaming fist was now the size of a large boulder.

'Come on… Move… Move… Move..! Dammit..!'

While clenching onto his Scale blade with his right hand, Issei tried everything he could to work up the strength to counter Riser's punch. Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get any of his muscles to move, no matter how hard he used his brain to tell them to do so.

'Why am I here?! Why else did I come all this way?! If I don't win this Rating Game, it'll be all for nothing!'

Issei clenches his teeth as he continues to try and move.

'I… gotta win… I… want to win… I… _need_ to win..! FOR RIAS GREMORY!'

After getting the ball of flames to the size he desires, he grins and gets ready to punch him in the jaw, incinerating him in the process.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM!"

Ravel thought what's happening right now was really messed up. She witnessed Asia pleading and pleading with her brother not to kill Issei while sobbing her heart out, but her pleas to Riser fell on deaf ears.

"Damn that bastard!" Kiba curses, clenching the hilt of his sword so tight, blood started trickling from his palm. "How could he do this?!"

"That son of a bitch!" Akeno added in agreement. She wanted to hurt Riser so badly, but she knew if she tried, Issei, and possibly herself or her other friends, will get killed.

Koneko started shivering while looking down at her feet. She wanted to make sure Riser's life was a living Hell too, no pun intended, but not without getting her senpai killed in the process.

Rias however, was weighing in her options in her thoughts. She knew what Riser wanted her to say to him if she wanted Issei to live. But she didn't want to marry him. He was an asshole that didn't care about anyone but himself, and now he's going as far as threatening to kill her favorite Pawn, and possibly her other servants, just to have her surrender to him.

'Ise… Akeno… Kiba-kun… Koneko-san… Asia-chan… Forgive me… But I don't want Ise to die…'

Having made up her mind, she took a deep breath while choking back tears and sets her eyes on Riser.

"Riser… I…"

" **Tch!"**

PFFF!

"""""""!"""""""

Everyone, plus the three girls in the Student Council room widen their eyes when they see Issei suddenly grab Riser's right wrist with his left hand and kept it in a tight grip. Upon further inspection, they all gasp to see that his injuries were slowly healing themselves. While they were healing, they also noticed that pieces of a white material started appearing from thin air and floated towards the left side of Issei's face like paper being carried by wind. Due to Issei's head looking downwards, they were unable to see what this mysterious matter was forming.

" **Fool. Didn't I tell you? If you die on me, then _I'll_ be done for as well!"**

Everyone was surprised at Issei's odd choice of words, but what surprised them the most was his voice. Not only did it give off a slight echo, but it didn't sound like Issei at all. He sounded like a completely different person.

"Ise..?"

While Rias, along with everyone else was wondering what's going on with Issei, Koneko was the most scared of them all, constantly shivering with wide eyes and contracted pupils as she began to recognize the power's signature.

"That's impossible!" Riser said in disbelief. "You've just lost the strength to fight back, and yet you somehow got it back to block my punch?! What the Hell are you?!"

After three seconds of silence, everyone, plus the three girls watching the game from the Student Council room, widen their eyes slightly when they see Issei slowly start to grin.

But… Something was off about it when his grin was wider than usual. This caused the Gremory Devils, Ravel, and even Riser to tense up. This wasn't the grin of confidence that the Gremory Devils were familiar with.

This grin was sadistic. Crazed. It was a grin that was commonly worn by a psychopath, and it was worrying the Gremory Devils greatly, especially Rias, Asia, and even Koneko.

" **What am I? HA! I am…"**

Issei then shoots his head upwards to stare deep into Riser's eyes, revealing his face to everyone.

"… **Your worst nightmare!"**

Everyone lets out a loud gasp as they saw Issei's face. His look was that of a grinning madman who's out for blood. His scleras have blackened and his irises have turned from his gentle brown color to a golden yellow, with his left eye glowing that color. Covering the top left of his face was part of a white skull shaped mask with half of the top row of sharp human-like teeth. The Gremory Devils look on in horror as they found that mask to be very familiar thanks to its three vertical black stripes on the forehead, with two horizontal ones below the eye piece.

Keeping his grin intact, the partial masked Issei grips onto the Scale Blade and engulfs the blade with the black and white aura. After doing so, he slashes the sword left.

SLASH! PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH!

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

" **HA HA!"**

Riser was forced to let go of Issei as the latter was able to land a diagonal slash on his chest. Due to the aura sticking to him like glue, his healing factor was unable to take care of the large bleeding wound from the slash, and the claw marks caused by the small dragon scale sized blades.

" **HUUAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAAAAAAAAAHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

Everyone watches the psychotic laughing Issei as he lands towards the crater with a flip to pick up the cross in his left hand. While Riser and Ravel looked on at the masked Devil in shock, The Gremory Devils were petrified at their friend's maniacal laughter and the mask on his face.

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

Sona and Tsubaki watch on with eyes of shock and horror as the masked Issei continued to laugh maniacally at Riser's injury. While the two looked on at the scene, not uttering a single word, Yoruichi looked at Issei with wide, narrowed eyes while shivering.

"Oh no…"

* * *

" **You are such an idiot, Issei!"**

Everyone was snapped out of their terror-stricken gazes when they heard the different voiced Issei speak again, once again, finding his choice of words to be odd. They were all wondering why he was referring to himself.

The masked Issei then lifts his Boosted Gear embedded hand in front of him while keeping his crazed smile intact.

" **You've wasted your precious seconds on your Boosted Gear's incomplete Balance Breaker by constantly boasting on about how you're going to defeat that piece of shit birdie and save your precious master! Now your body's become fatigue from the strain! You really are a hopeless Pawn!"**

The masked Issei then throws the cross slightly in the air and catches it in his left hand while focusing his crazed stare on Riser, startling the latter a little.

" **Now, you just sit back and watch, Issei."**

He then crushes the cross in his hand, making the Boosted Gear shine multiple colors.

 _{Transfer!}_

" **As I show you how to properly use Boosted Gear, along with your other capabilities!"**

Riser took that as a challenge from what he believes to be a schizo and flares up his aura. He then takes flight in the sky while keeping his eyes on the masked Devil.

Issei's grin grew wider as he saw what the Phenex Devil was up to and lifts his Scale Blade above his head. He then conjured a very large amount of aura into the blade of the sword and slashed it downwards, launching a large Getsuga Tenshou towards Riser.

Riser widens his eyes at how large the crescent was, but narrows them as he still remembers how it stops his healing factor temporarily. He retreats back to the rooftop of the new school building to avoid getting hit by the attack.

As he landed there, Riser widens his eyes slightly when he senses a presence from above him. As he looks up, he widens his eyes when he sees the masked Issei falling towards him with both swords raised above his head with his black and white aura engulfing the blades. The Scale Blade was in his right hand, and his large sword was in his left.

" **HAAAA HAHA!"**

Riser dodges to the right, but not without getting nicked in his left shoulder by Issei's large blade. After the former dodged, the masked Devil's swords crashed into the rooftop, creating a crater, and some cracks from his attack.

Issei shoots his head towards Riser while still keeping his evil grin on his face. He engulfs both swords with his aura and starts to launch Getsuga Tenshou after Getsuga Tenshou at the Phenex Devil.

Riser was now starting to sweat bullets. Because of how fast Issei was firing each of his long ranged attacks, he had a hard time trying to keep up the pace with the crazed Pawn. He kept dodging and dodging, trying his best to not get hit by his aura. While he was avoiding them, he did get hit by one of the crescents

" **Why are you running away, little birdie?!"** the masked Issei asks him as he continues swinging his swords like a raging berserker. **"You _are_ immortal, aren't ya?! HAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA!"**

"B-B-B-Buchou…"

Rias shifted her eyes towards Asia when she felt her tug at her arm. As her attention gets to her, she widens her eyes to see tears uncontrollably roll down her cheeks while watching Issei laugh maniacally as he continues to slash at Riser, not giving the latter any time to counter attack.

"What… What's happened to Issei-san? He's not acting like himself. And… Those eyes… They're _not_ his at all… Why?! What's happened to him?!"

Rias softened her eyes at Asia and hugged onto her to calm her down.

"I'll explain everything later, Asia-chan."

Seeing Asia nod in response while continuing to cry in her arms, Rias looks back to the masked Issei with her worrying gaze.

'I knew there was something off when that mask saved him from the light spear after Koneko-san destroyed it.'

Riser dodges two more Getsuga Tenshous before leaning forward and placing his hands on his knees, catching his breath after dodging Issei's attacks while getting nicked by some of them.

'Dammit! He's so fast!'

Riser took two more deep breaths before straightening himself to attack Issei back. However, Riser finds that Issei was no longer on the roof with him, puzzling the Phenex Devil.

"What?! Where did he go?!"

His question was answered when he felt two objects press against his back. Slightly jumping at the contact, he turns around to find the source of the objects and widens his eyes in fear as he sees Issei smiling psychotically at him with wide eyes of blood lust. He had two of his swords engulfed by a large amount of his black and white aura while the blades were pressed against Riser's back.

Upon further inspection on Issei, everyone noticed that his mask now has its left half of the jaw formed, making it a half mask. Since Issei's crazed smile was an open mouthed one, the jaw of the mask was unhinged due to how wide his mouth was open.

" **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Everyone was forced to shield their eyes with their arms when the half masked Issei sets off a large explosion with his aura infused swords. After five seconds past, the Devils remove their arms and were met with a devastating display.

Their jaws dropped with widened eyes when they witnessed the large explosion cloud of black and white aura engulf the entire school. No screams were heard from Riser as the sound of shattering glass, crumbling ruble, and the screeching sounds of wind were racing through their eardrums.

"ONII-SAMA!"

While Ravel watched the large explosion cloud fly upwards with eyes of worry for her brother, the Gremory Devils watched with sad eyes, worrying for their friend.

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

Sona and Tsubaki were left speechless when they witnessed the mass explosion caused by the masked Issei's aura. While their eyes were glued onto the rising cloud of the aura, Yoruichi tightens her fists and grits her teeth when she saw how powerful the explosion was. The game may be broadcasted for others to watch, but she could tell how powerful that attack was. She wouldn't be surprised if Riser was killed by it.

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

When the black and white aura finally cleared up, a chill went down the Devil's spines when they saw how destroyed the new school building was. Nothing was left but shards of broken glass, splinters, and broken pieces of ruble meant to be the walls and structure for the school.

After five seconds of silence, The Gremory Devils and Ravel notice one of the broken pieces of ruble move upwards, revealing a bruised hand lifting it up. Throwing it to the side, Riser's head pops from the pile while gasping for air, followed by getting the rest of his body out of the ruins of the school.

Riser was in terrible condition. Thanks to the black and white aura sticking all over his body, he was unable to regenerate and get his injuries healed, leaving him in a bloody mess, blood dripping off of his clothes. While he did have the strength to stand, he hadn't the strength to fight back due to how much damage he took from the explosion.

Riser turns around towards the masked Issei, who was grinning while slowly approaching the former, and gives him a nervous glare.

"This massive, twisted power… and that mask… are you… a Hollow?"

Everyone else flinched when they heard the word "Hollow", but Issei only chuckled at him.

" **Heh! I don't see the point in telling you, because as soon as I'm finished with you, you're gonna-"**

" _Go away!"_

" **!"**

The Hollow Issei suddenly stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes in shock when he heard the real one speak in his head. This also caused his body to suddenly shake, surprising everyone who's watching him.

After a few more seconds of shaking, Issei's left hand, which was the part of his body that was twitching more violently, dropped the large sword and left it clacking onto the ground. Everyone kept paying attention to the twitching hand as it was slowing reaching upwards. Where specifically? They were not sure.

SLAM!

""""""""""!""""""""""

Everyone, including the three girls at the Student Council room widen their eyes in unexpected surprise when they saw Issei's left hand grab onto the Hollow Mask on his face. The group watch on to see that his hand was struggling to pull it off while the Hollow Issei was grunting in frustration.

" **D… Dammit! Let go!"**

"I don't need your help! Don't interfere!"

Everyone gasps in surprise when they heard Issei's real voice boom from his mouth as his left hand continued to try and pry the mask off of his face. They also saw that his right eye reverted back to his original brown color for two seconds before it changed back to a black sclera and gold-yellow iris.

" **You're the one who's interfering!"** The Hollow Issei argues. **"Don't you get it?! I was gonna kill him! If you'd just leave it to me, then you'll win!"**

The real Issei didn't listen to his Hollow. His left hand kept tugging at the mask violently until the Devils noticed that cracks started to form on it.

" **Grrrrrrr! You fool! DAMN YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUU!"**

With one more tug, the Hollow mask popped off of Issei's face while his inner Hollow screamed out in pain as soon as he got it off.

While the Devils and Yoruichi's looks turned to shock when they saw Issei tear off the mask, their looks turned to fear when a fiery ooze of black and white aura started fuming from Issei's face upwards.

Everyone looked on at the fuming aura, not daring to move a single muscle. The high level of power coming from the aura was far too great for them to comprehend. It was a power that could possibly be seen by the Devils as power from a higher class.

After five more seconds, the aura stopped its flow from Issei's face and dispersed in the sky. The Devils looked on with wide eyes to see Issei heavily breathing. His head was facing towards the ground, and his eyes were hidden behind his bangs. In his Boosted Gear embedded hand, everyone could see the half Hollow mask held by it.

All was silent. The only thing that was keeping the atmosphere was Issei and Riser's constant heavy breathing after the former got his face free from the mask. After a few more breaths, Issei's hand lets go of the Hollow mask and lets it clatter onto the ground, the face facing the green sky.

POP!

Everyone, minus Issei, jumps when the Hollow mask vanished from sight like a bubble blown from a bubble wand. They then pay attention to the young Pawn as his head was slowly raising up towards Riser, who was still wary of the boy.

Out of all of the people watching him, Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Sona, Tsubaki, Yoruichi, and even Ravel were the ones wondering if Issei was alright. After ripping the Hollow mask off of his face, the Gremory Devils were hoping that he was back to normal since the skull shaped object was technically the reason he acted like he did back there.

When Issei finally made eye contact with Riser, exposing his face for everyone to see, everyone lets out a gasp to see that the young Pawn's eyes have now turned back into their original colors. His sclera got its white back, and his irises reverted from gold-yellow to his original gentle doe-brown.

Looking into his eyes, Asia's eyes soften and tear up again when she saw the colors she's grown fond of.

"Buchou… Issei-san's back. His eyes… They've returned to the color they should be…"

The Gremory Devils and Ravel look on at Issei with wide eyes, with the former group happy to see Issei return, judging from what Asia said to them.

Rias and Akeno watch with equally soft eyes when they saw Issei's eyes return to normal, Kiba lets out a sigh of relief for his comrade, and Koneko watches with a face full of relief as she has both of her hands onto her heart, tears forming in her eyes.

"Issei-senpai…"

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

"He stopped it…" Sona says quietly, looking on at the scene that was presented on the screen aiming at Issei and Riser. While Rias has told her about the Hollow mask Issei had when he almost became a Hollow, she shared the same eerie feeling as her friend when she was told that this same mask was responsible for saving him from getting stabbed in the skull by a light spear. And now that it has returned, proving that Issei has a Hollow within him, she could only wonder how Rias will help her Pawn take care of the monster inside of him, and how the Devils of the Underworld will react when they have witnessed his Hollow side go rampant against Riser.

Tsubaki lets out a sigh of relief when she saw Issei's eyes return. Like Asia, those soft brown eyes too have made the Sitri Queen feel warm whenever she got a good look at them, and she was happy to see the color return. As for Yoruichi…

'Damn! To think that the seal on his Hollow powers would be _this_ loosened!'

After staring down at the desk with gritting teeth for six more seconds, Yoruichi calmed down with a quiet deep breath and shifts her eyes back on the screen.

'Looks like we'll have to help him get control over it sooner than I thought we would. But how can we do it? Surely there has to be someone who has control of their Hollow as a Visored class.'

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

 _ **{Partner?! Partner, Can you hear me?! I wasn't able to reach you for a while until now! Is everything alright?! Did you chase it away?!}**_

Issei quickly shifts his eyes towards his dragonified hand and nods in reply before turning back to Riser.

"Sorry about that, Riser."

Everyone does a double take at Issei's apology to Riser.

"What you've just witnessed," Issei continued while breathing heavily. "Was an unwelcomed interference."

Riser raises a brow at Issei. He too was breathing heavily.

"An unwelcomed… Interference..?" 'That's what he calls that mask that suddenly appeared on his face?'

Everyone else was also surprised with what Issei called it, but the Gremory Devils were just glad that Issei's real voice was back too.

Riser breaths two more times before continuing to speak.

"So… what you're saying is if you defeated me with that mask on, it wouldn't _really_ be your win?"

Issei kept his stare on him while frowning for three more seconds before answering truthfully:

"Yes."

Riser blinks in surprise at his reply, as well as everyone else, minus Issei. In the Student Council room, Yoruichi allows a warm smile to tug from her lips when she heard her master's reply.

The Gremory Devils too smiled at their friend's response. For him to reject a win that was caused by a power that made him not him was something to really admire.

Even Ravel was pleased with Issei's words. Her eyes were wide with surprise and… admiration…

'Wh… What am I thinking about?!'

Ravel shakes her head from the thoughts she was currently having while her cheeks turned light red. She then took a deep and continued to watch Issei and Riser with stern eyes.

Clearing his throat, Riser smirked at the brown haired Pawn and got into a fighting stance.

"You have honor, Hyoudou. I'll give you that. I won't ask what exactly happened to you when that mask randomly appeared on your face, but Riser believes it's time to end this silly charade."

After listening to Riser's words, Issei smiles and lets out a soft chuckle, confusing everyone around him.

"I ain't throwing in the towel just yet."

Riser glares at him with a frown.

"What are you talking about?!" He asks him, sounding agitated. "I know your secret regeneration ability healed all of your injuries, but there's no way you could've regained the strength to fight back."

Issei chuckles gently again, confusing everyone further.

"Simple, my friend," Issei replies as he digs for something in his hoodie pocket. "This should be an easy riddle. What do you need to put out a fire?"

Everyone raised an eyebrow at his "riddle". All except for Asia, as she knew what he was talking about because of a talk they had at home before they left.

When Issei's hand finally felt the object he wanted to get, he grabbed onto it and took it out of his pocket, showing it to Riser.

[Play song: Bleach OST: Number one]

"The answer? Water."

Everyone, including Riser, widen their eyes in shock and fear at the bottle Issei was holding in his left hand. What he was holding was a bottle of Holy water, another Holy weapon he secretly took with him along with the Holy cross.

* * *

 _ **~Student Council room~**_

"Holy water!" Tsubaki exclaims, surprised that Issei was carrying a bottle of it with him.

"Will Holy water even work against a Devil as strong as a Phenex?" Sona asks out loud, also surprised that Issei brought this particular Holy weapon with him.

Yoruichi giggled at the Sitri Devils, making them turn their heads towards her with raised eyebrows.

"The answer should be obvious," the Nekomata replied chirpily. "I mean come on, just because he has the flames of a Phoenix, it doesn't mean that they'll protect him from something like that. Just wait and see."

The Sitri Devils blinked at Yoruichi before paying their attention back to Issei, who just opened the bottle by removing the cap with his teeth and spitting it out to the side.

* * *

 **~Rating Game battlefield~**

After Issei got the bottle open, he proceeded to throw half of the water at Riser.

"Drink up! Boosted Gear: Gift!"

 _{Transfer!}_

As the Boosted gear made that call, the Holy water turned into a gold color thanks to the power transferred to the deadly liquid. The liquid lands on Riser's face and…

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Everyone looks on with surprised eyes when they see Riser hold his head in his hands while screaming in pain after the water landed on his face. The liquid peeled off some of the skin on his cheeks as the Phenex Devil continued to scream in pain while falling to his knees.

"Ara ara! It's actually working!" Akeno exclaims, earning a round of gasps from the Gremory Devils and Ravel.

* * *

 _ **~Student Council Room~**_

"See, I told you Holy water wouldn't stop him!" Yoruichi says to the two Sitri Devils while watching Riser writhing in pain.

"The Holy water is draining his mental and physical strength," Sona said with a surprised expression. "It's also preventing him from regenerating!"

Tsubaki nodded in agreement with a noticeable smirk on her face.

"Not even a Devil from the House of Phenex can rise from the ashes when his mind's under this kind of attack."

"Damn right!" Yoruichi agrees with the Sitri Queen while letting a toothy grin form from her lips. "His body may be 'immortal', but his mind is _not_."

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

"It hurts, doesn't it, Riser?" Issei asks him while keeping his narrow eyed stare on Riser as he sees the later get up while still holding a hand onto his face. "You may already know this, but Devils are completely vulnerable to Light and Holy powers such as crosses and Holy water. Not even your healing factor stands a chance against its power."

Gnarling in rage and pain, Riser conjures a ball of flame in the palm of his right hand and throws it at Issei, only for the latter to dodge it easily while keeping his eyes on the Phenex Devil.

Spreading his legs apart, Issei crushes the glass bottle and allows the Holy water to drench his Dragonified arm.

While the Gremory Devils understood that the arm was immune to Holy and light power when it's in its dragonified state, they still flinched when they saw the poisonous liquid splash all over it.

 _{Transfer!}_

With that call, the scales of Issei's Boosted Gear glowed gold with the Holy water's power flowing within it thanks to Boosted Gear: Gift.

Issei then turns to Riser, who felt the Holy power flowing from the boy and started to slowly back away, fear visible in his face.

"You might as well surrender, Riser!" Issei advises him, noticing how scared Riser was right now. "With the power of the Holy water in my Dragonified arm, and the damage dealt to you by the splash of said liquid, you don't have a choice!"

Riser stuttered at the Pawn when he heard those words for three seconds until finally forming words.

"Y-Y-Y… You fool! Stop! Don't you know what you're doing?! This engagement is important to the future of all Devils! A mere servant like you has no business getting involved with the affairs of your master!"

"I don't care!" Issei retorted as he started walking towards him, sheathing his Scale Blade as he only needs the Holy power in his left arm to finish him off. "Rias-sama!" Rias blushes when he called her that. "She made herself perfectly clear that she doesn't want to be with you! And the fact that you're forcing her to be with you… That's reason enough for me to take you down!"

Balling up his left hand into a fist, Issei unleashes a battle cry as he charges at Riser with said fist cocked back.

Riser would dodge it with whatever strength he had left, but unfortunately for him, Issei used Shunpo, which was enhanced by his Queen promotion, to appear in front of him in a blink of an eye. Afterwards, the young Hyoudou slammed his fist harshly into Riser's gut, making the Phenex Devil vomit up blood due to the Rook strength, and Holy power affecting him.

After releasing his fist from his stomach, Riser fell to his knees again and started to fall face first, but not without looking up towards Issei with whatever consciousness he had left and utter:

"You… Bastard…"

THUD!

Issei watches as Riser's face hits the ground, rendering the Devil unconscious. Before the Pawn could do anything else…

"Stop! He's had enough!"

Issei's attention was now on Ravel, who was flying towards the two and landed in front of the unconscious with her arms out.

[end song]

"That's enough!" Ravel shouted while sounding scared. "He's retiring! You've won! So please, don't hurt him anymore!"

Ravel then jumps with an "Eep!" When Issei's stern brown eyes stare deeply into her blue orbs of sight.

"Listen up, sister of Riser Phenex," Issei began, getting everyone's attention, especially Ravel's. "When your elder brother regains consciousness, I want you to give him a message from me. Can you do that?"

Ravel immediately nods at the Gremory Pawn, giving him the green light to speak his message.

"The next time we meet, I expect him to be a better man. Looking back when we first met, I will admit that I was acting a little immature when insulting him and only thought that he was an irredeemable Bird Brain who only cares about fame, fortune, and women. But now, after battling with your elder brother, I've decided that he needs to change and be a better Devil, hoping that he will learn from this defeat." Issei's eyes narrow dangerously. "And trust me when I say this: If he ever tries anything to get back at me for revenge, say kidnap Rias-sama and possibly rape her, I'll drown him in a pool of Holy water and keep breaking his bones every time they relocate themselves, and make sure he knows not to ever mess with her, my friends, and especially me: this generation's Red Dragon Emperor."

Ravels eyes widen at Issei's message to her brother. Her cheeks then suddenly turn a dark shade of red as she stares on at the boy's figure and stern look, admitting to herself mentally at how handsome he was, especially when he's in anger.

Ravels eyes widen again when she realized what she was thinking about and immediately looked away from him, her blush turning darker every second.

Taking a deep breath, Issei gives her a soft look, which was noticed by the latter from the corner of her eye.

"Don't take this defeat as something that will scar you for life," Issei says to her. "Losing makes you stronger. Losing allows you to learn from the mistakes and missteps that caused said defeat. Losing encourages you to get stronger so you can stand back up and try again. And if you lose again when you make another attempt, then keep trying. Keep getting stronger. Never give up." Issei turns around from Ravel and looks up towards the green sky with a smile. "As for winning, it's simply payoff from all of the hard work you've done to earn said victory. Nothing more, nothing less."

Ravel lets out a gasp as she feels her heart skip a beat. The words he spoke about winning and losing were immediately stored safely into her memory as she felt warm hearing them from him in his own voice.

The Gremory Devils were touched by this speech too. Though… Akeno was turned on at where Issei described how he was going to torture Riser if he tried to get revenge on them, licking her lips and rubbing her thighs together as the threats sung into her head.

* * *

 _ **~Student council~**_

Sona and Tsubaki held astonished expressions after Issei finished his speech to Ravel. The former Sitri found newly gained respect for the Pawn when he talked about winning and losing, while the other Sitri Devil held her hands onto her heart with a warm smile, and softened eyes.

'Hyoudou-kun… You actually did it…'

Yoruichi was as proud as anyone else. She had a happy smile on her face with twinkly eyes towards her master while rocking the balls of her feet on the floor.

"Hee hee~. He quoted everything I told him during our training sessions. I'm very proud of him."

* * *

 _ **~Rating Game battlefield~**_

" _Riser-sama's retirement has been confirmed. Victory goes to Lady Rias-sama."_

After hearing Grayfia announce this at the intercom, Issei takes another look at the green sky and smiles to himself. He inhales a breath deeply, and then exhales slowly.

'Buchou… I've done it… I've given you you're freedom…'

BA-BUMP!

Issei suddenly widens his eyes, followed by everyone else gasping as they see the boy's body tilt backwards.

'Oh no!' Issei exclaims mentally. 'My strength… I can feel it leave me…'

Before Issei could fall, Kiba got to him with his Knight trait and caught him before the former's back could hit the ground.

"I Gotcha, Issei!"

Kiba was about to say more, but stopped himself when he saw that Issei's eyes were closed, meaning that he was now out cold.

Kiba chuckled at the scene.

"To be expected of Issei. He did take on a Phenex after all."

Kiba's smile grows, knowing full well that this man, Issei Hyoudou, was the man who took down the Immortal Bird.

"Issei, You've fought we-"

"Ise!"

"Huh?"

Kiba was turning his head towards the direction of Rias' voice. Before he could set his eyes on his master, Rias glomped onto the unconscious Issei and hugged his head in between her breasts, while unknowingly ramming her Knight out of the way.

THUD!

"My leg!"

Rias was smiling warmly at the young Hyoudou. Tears streaming down her face as her blue-green eyes stared down at her hero.

"Oh Ise… You've just saved my life…"

With more tears rolling down her cheeks, Rias strokes Issei's hair lovingly and presses her cheek against his own.

"Thank you, my precious Ise."

Everyone else looks on at the scene between Rias and the unconscious Issei. The Gremory Devils were smiling to see their master happy that she is now free from the arranged marriage with Riser, and they had their comrade, Issei, to thank for this being a reality.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the spectating room where Higher class Devils were watching the game, a private conversation was being held between two Devils. The first one was a middle-aged man with long, crimson hair that fell down to his back, and the second one almost looks like Riser, but not quite.

"Lord Phenex," the red haired Devil began. "I would like to apologize for the cancellation of the engagement between my daughter and your son."

"No, there's no need to say sorry, Lord Gremory," the Phenex Devil assures him, surprising the Gremory. "It appears that we both possessed greed for the engagement between Rias and my son. After all, both of us already have pure-blooded grandchildren. Perhaps this greed was responsible for us to arrange the marriage between them."

"Please don't feel guilty," Lord Gremory says to him. "I too have forced my greed onto my daughter."

Setting his attention back to the TV screen that displayed the Rating Game's winners, Lord Phenex looks at the boy Rias was cradling the head of in love and lets a warm smile creep up his lips.

"That boy your daughter's hugging, he's Issei Hyoudou, yes?"

Rias' father nods in reply, allowing the Phenex Lord to continue with a wider smile.

"I'd like to meet him and thank him one day. What my son lacked was defeat and humility. He overestimated the ability of our clan and payed the price for it. The Phoenix is not absolute, and learning that was enough for this engagement."

The father of Rias held a surprised look in his eyes at Lord Phenex's opinion. He then took another look at the unconscious Issei, who Rias was still hugging and nuzzling cheeks with him. He couldn't help but smile.

'So at the end of the day, my daughter chose to be rescued by her one and only Pawn.' He then frowns, recalling what happened to Issei when Riser was about to kill him. 'But what are we going to do about his Hollow power, now that everyone knows that he is a wild Visored?'

"Lord Gremory."

The Gremory Devil's attention was back to Lord Phenex, who was smiling intently.

"Your daughter has a great servant. Not because of what he's capable of, but it's because of his heart. He is most certainly a Devil unlike any other, putting his friends first before himself."

Lord Gremory nods in agreement, remembering the words Issei said to Riser while the two were fighting one on one.

"The Red Dragon Emperor. Even I'm surprised he was able to come to our side."

Lord Phenex lets out a chuckle.

"Then the next time will be…"

"Yes, it must be," agreed Lord Gremory. "Or maybe, it has already awakened."

"The Vanishing Dragon," Lord Phenex finishes. "It's only a matter of time before Hyoudou meets him or her."

Lord Gremory takes this moment to think to himself with stern eyes and a frown. After thinking for a few seconds, he turns back to Lord Phenex.

"While that is an interesting thought, that's not what I wish to worry about right now."

"Oh?" Lord Phenex raises an eyebrow. "What is it that's worrying you right now?"

"I think it should be obvious," Lord Gremory answers, narrowing his eyes. "It's Hyoudou's Hollow. You have seen the mask form on his face and take him over right?"

The Phenex Devil nods in reply while having the same eyes as the Gremory.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that incident. Personally, I'm surprised the young lad had the strength to pry that mask off and regain control over himself."

"Even so, I have no doubt that the higher ups will not allow him in the Underworld until this problem is solved. You'd never know if that mask will reappear and make Hyoudou go rampant."

"Father, Lord Phenex."

The two High-class Devils turned around and saw Lord Gremory's son, Sirzechs, has arrived with them, who had a smile of reassurance.

"You two, as well as the rest of the Devils of the Underworld, will not have to worry about Issei's Hollow. I have it all taken care of."

"Huh?" Sirzech's father raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant at all.

"But the mask appeared on him at the game, son. How can you have it under control?"

Sirzechs chuckles softly with closed eyes.

"Simple, I called up a certain group that helped us out a few times before. And surely, they can help us out with Issei's Hollow problem, like how they were able to take care of their own."

Lord Gremory was still confused at his son's explanation, but he, and Lord Phenex widen their eyes as they've heard more information from this "group".

"Wait," Lord Phenex began. "By _that_ group, do you possibly mean..?"

"Yes, Lord Phenex," Sirzechs replies with his smile still intact as he finishes with:

"The Masked Exorcists."

The two high-class Devil's eyes widen again in remembrance of that group, and the favors they've done for the Underworld.

"Well, anyway," Sirzechs continues, while turning around from the two. "I better head off now. I'm going to meet my Ria-tan's hero. Take care."

After Sirzechs walked out of the room, Lord Gremory and Lord Phenex think back to when they've first heard of this group he mentioned to them.

"The Masked Exorcists," Lord Gremory states. "I haven't heard from those guys in a while."

"You and me both, my friend."

* * *

Issei was now standing on top of a building in his Dream world, looking forward towards the other buildings. He was currently thinking about all of the events that have happened in the game, especially that _one_ moment.

'Yoruichi told me that this would happen…'

Issei looks down to the his feet and narrows his eyes further.

'I know I won in the end… But still… Now that _he's_ about, I have no doubt he'll try and take over my body again.'

 **{If that's what you're worried about, then I will do whatever I can in my power to prevent him from using your body as its own.}**

Issei jumps from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice behind him. Upon turning around, He calms down when he sees a familiar Welsh Dragon.

"Oh, hey Ddraig,"

 **{Hello again, Partner. It's good to see you again.}**

Issei allows his lips to form a small smile.

"Yeah… You too…"

Ddraig noticed the sad, quiet tone Issei used as his host stares down again.

 **{You're already worried about _him_?}**

Issei flinches, knowing what Ddraig is talking about, but nods his head in affirmative anyway.

 **{Don't beat yourself up about the discovery made by your Familiar. Even I thought that you drove the Hollow away after maturing the Boosted Gear. If you want to blame someone for not finding out sooner, you have full permission to blame me.}**

Breathing a deep sigh, Issei looks up towards Ddraig with softened eyes.

"I don't blame you for this, Ddraig. What I see is what you see. Besides, I had no idea that the Hollow was still within me until Yoruichi mentioned how my aura took form of the mask."

 **{Well, worry no more. Like I said, I will do whatever I can to make sure that the Hollow doesn't get into any more trouble.}**

Issei blinks twice at the Welsh Dragon. He then sighs again and smiles in his direction.

"Thanks, Ddraig. I appreciate it."

Ddraig lets a gentle laugh escape from his lips.

 **{Of course. After all, I can't afford for you to be weak when the White Guy shows up.}**

Hearing the words "White Guy" Made Issei remember the last time he said that, and shot a look at him.

 **{What?}**

"You mentioned this guy before. I think it's about time you tell me about him."

Noticing how his host's expression turned serious, Ddraig understood and began to explain.

 **{The White Guy… Is the White Dragon Emperor: Albion. The Vanishing Dragon.}**

Issei's eyes widen when the White Guy's identity was revealed to him.

"Vanishing Dragon? And it's another Dragon Emperor?"

 **{Correct. We were called "The Twin Sky Dragons" back in the day, and we've fought for several years, that is before God killed us both for causing to much mayhem, and stored us into our Sacred Gears. Long story short, whoever two possess the gears, one host where I reside in, and the other, with Albion, those two were destined to fight each other to the death. Whoever appears next as whatever Dragon Emperor, it's rinse and repeat.}**

Issei took his time to process the information Ddraig gave him. His first reaction was stunned when he found out that there is another Dragon emperor, being the white one, who has its own Sacred Gear like Ddraig does. His eyes then narrowed when the red dragon talked about how he and his white counterpart, Albion, were rivals that now use their hosts to keep the fight going. That particular piece of information was what piqued Issei's interest the most.

"So let me get this straight. You have a rival named Albion, who's known as the Vanishing Dragon, and the White Dragon Emperor, and you two are settling this 'Rivalry' by having two hosts of the dragon gears kill each other. Did I hear that right?

Ddraig nods his head at his host.

 **{Yes. That is correct.}**

The Welsh Dragon then gets a surprised look in his eyes when he saw his host deadpan at him.

"Question: Do you or Albion know how this rivalry began?"

Ddraig blinked once. Then twice, and then one more time. He then looks towards the sky as he digs into his memories on the reason of his rivalry with Albion. After ten seconds, he looked back to his host, who still had his deadpan on.

 **{Unfortunately, I have no recollection of the reason for how our rivalry began.}**

After answering, Ddraig noticed that his host's deadpan was still on, making the dragon sweat a little.

"Then what's the point of having this stupid damn rivalry?"

Ddraig flinches at the tone Issei used, making his deadpan surprisingly scary to him.

 **{Uh… Wha..?}**

"I mean: why are you making us kill each other when there is no clear reason for it?!"

The harsh tone in Issei's voice made Ddraig jump with widened eyes.

"Look, pal, I understand that I'm stuck with you because I was 'chosen' to have Boosted Gear as my Sacred Gear, and I'm fully aware of the sacrifice I made by turning my arm into one of a Dragon's, making me a partial Humanoid Dragon, but trust me when I say this, Ddraig: There is no way in the unknown depths of Hell that I'll fight and kill a White Dragon Emperor just because he's my rival! This destiny you have with each other is a joke! And I will _not_ tolerate such unreasonable battles, whether you like it, or not!"

Ddraig flinches at Issei's anger towards the rivalry between him and Albion. He was about to respond, but Issei calmed down with a deep breath before continuing to speak.

"Look, if this generation's White Dragon Emperor is someone who wants to bring 'the end of the world', harm innocent people, etc., _that_ is when I'll fight him or her. Not because of the rivalry, but to keep everyone safe. However, if this one is a kind person and has some heart, I will _not_ fight him. I refuse to partake in this stupid, pointless rivalry! Ever!"

Ddraig looked on at the agitated Issei Hyoudou, surprised that he would resent the rivalry _this_ much. The dragon then took some time process his host's rant; every single word of it. While he did understand why Issei hates the idea of being in a rivalry, he now wants to know what caused him and Albion to be in the rivalry to begin with. He was also hoping that Albion would remember the reason why they were fighting, since he has no recollection of the reason himself.

Plus, there was another thing that Ddraig thought about, which he decided to bring up when he sets his eyes back to his host.

 **{Partner, while I'm slowly starting to understand your anger towards this rivalry, what will Albion think of your opinion? And most importantly: What will the current host of the Vanishing Dragon think about it?}**

Issei widened his eyes slightly at the questions. He then places one hand on his chin, and another on his cheek, thinking further on the two questions the Welsh Dragon asked him.

"Okay… You got me there…"

 **{I'll leave you to think of an answer, as you are about to awaken from your slumber. Until we see each other again, partner.}**

Issei snapped out of his thinking expression and shot a look at Ddraig.

"Really? You're doing that again?"

* * *

Issei's eyes flutter open, awakening from his sleep. He then widens them and shoots his head up from his pillow as he notices that he was in a different room. Scanning the room with his eyes, he calms down to see that he was now in his bedroom at home.

'Huh. I guess I was carried here by one of my friends.'

Issei then blinks in surprise when he suddenly started hearing lewd sucking sounds, followed by an odd feeling he got in his left hand.

Turning his head to that hand, his eyes widen further when he saw Akeno on his bed, solely focusing on sucking his fingers. Thankfully, to his sanity, she was wearing her school uniform, so he didn't have to worry about that. What confused him the most however, was that his black haired senpai was sucking on his index and middle fingers, bobbing her head up and down while maneuvering her tongue around them at a fast pace.

After four seconds past, Akeno halts her pace when she sees Issei awake from the corner out of her eye.

"Ise-kun!"

Taking his fingers out of her mouth, with a trail of saliva coming out of it, Akeno latches onto Issei and places his head in between her breasts, causing him to blush a dark shade of red.

"A-A-Akeno-san!" Issei exclaims. "What's wrong?!"

"Oh Ise-kun! I'm so glad you're okay! We weren't sure if you were ever going to wake up!"

Issei widens his eyes at Akeno's explanation, looking up from her cleavage.

"H-How long have I been out?" 'Judging from the talk I had with Ddraig, it shouldn't have been that long.'

Looking down towards her kouhai, Akeno answered:

"You've been out for at least three hours."

Issei makes a look of realization.

'Oh… right… I was staring off in space in my Dream world before we talked.'

Still blushing from Akeno having his head in her bust, he remembered what she was doing to him before hugging him and went ahead to ask her about it.

"So… Akeno-san… Why were you…" Issei shifts his eyes away shyly. "Sucking on my fingers earlier?"

"It was one of the easiest ways to turn your arm back to its human form until you work the strength to do so yourself."

Issei widens his eyes at a familiar female voice and freed his head from Akeno's breasts to find the source. Who he saw made him smile at her presence.

"Yoruichi!"

Issei's Familiar, in her human form, smiles back at him and waves a hand in hello.

"Yo!"

His happy attitude lasted for five more seconds, before he made a look of realization and looks downward with a sad look, earning looks of worry from Akeno and Yoruichi.

"I'm sorry Yoruichi… _He_ was able to possess me…"

While they both know what Issei was talking about, Akeno held a surprised look at him mentioning it, while Yoruichi raises an eyebrow.

"I didn't think he'd interfere so soon," Issei continued while tightening his fists. "And now, I'm going to possibly be a danger to Buchou, my friends…" Issei's hands now shake as his eyes widen in fear. "And even my family…"

Issei blinks with a jump when he felt Yoruichi place a gentle hand on his shoulder, followed by Akeno hugging onto his arm and resting her head on his other shoulder.

"If you're going to call yourself a monster, then _don't_." Yoruichi says sternly, making Issei look up at her to see her serious, but assuring face. "I've explained to _everyone_ about the Hollow within you, and trust me when I say this, we _will_ make sure it doesn't make your body permanently his."

"B-But… How can you be so sure of that..?"

"Because there's a group who's going to help you with that pesky Hollow of yours."

The three turn their heads towards Issei's opened door, which revealed a young man with the same color hair as Rias.

"Huh?" Issei raises an eyebrow at the newcomer. "Who's he?"

"Lucifer-sama!"

Issei makes a surprised expression when he saw Akeno jump off of his bed and bow to him on one knee. He was puzzled for a moment, but he then realized what's going on and widens his eyes towards the man.

"Wait… Is he… Sirzechs Lucifer-sama?!"

Yoruichi nods to him in reply.

"Yup. That's him."

Issei widens his eyes once more and bows to Sirzechs.

"My apologies, I should've known earlier!"

Sirzechs laughs at his apology warmly, confusing the young man.

"Please, heads up, you two, there's no need to be formal at your home."

At his command, Issei and Akeno lift their heads up, with the latter standing up.

"So… why are you here?" Issei asks politely. "It's kinda weird for me to have the king of all Devils to be at my home.

Sirzechs then makes a look of realization and sets his kind eyes on the boy.

"Ah! That's right!"

coughing into his fist, Sirzechs continues on to tell Issei what he had to say.

"Well, Issei, I came here to thank you for setting my young sister free."

Hearing that shocked Issei. He honestly expected him, or any other higher class Devil to curse him for canceling the engagement between his master and Riser and set up some kind of scheme to make him suffer. But _him,_ he didn't come here to do such things.

"Th-Th-Thank me? You're not upset about me defeating Riser?"

"Oh no, not at all," Sirzechs assures him with a smile. "In fact, I'm very happy to see someone who only sees my Ria-tan for who she is as a person."

"Onii-sama! Will you hurry up in there?! I want to see my precious servant!"

Sirzechs chuckles at her sister's impatience.

"You can come in, Ria-tan. There is plenty of room in here, after all."

After Sirzechs gave Rias the green light, Issei's door slammed open, revealing a teary-eyed Rias, Asia, and even Koneko charged into the room to see Issei. The last one to come in was Kiba, and he was simply walking in and waving at Issei.

Unfortunately for Issei, he was unable to notice the Knight wave hello to him, as the young Pawn was tackled by Rias in the face, Asia by his chest, and Koneko, landing on one of his legs.

"My leg!"

After screaming that out in pain, Issei widens his eyes with a dark blush when he saw that he was in a tight group hug from Rias, Asia, and Koneko, with Akeno, Sirzechs, and Yoruichi watching them with smiles.

"Ise-san! It's really you, isn't it?!" Asia asks with tears in her eyes.

"Y-Y-Yeah…" Issei replies nervously. "In the flesh."

Hearing that answer with the voice she's familiar with, Asia shoves her head into his chest and began to sob. Wanting to comfort her, since he doesn't like seeing her cry, he reached his hand towards her head and gently pets it, earning a small smile from the blonde.

"Thank goodness! Hearing that makes me so happy! When you've gone unconscious again, I was afraid that that… thing would appear and use your body for evil! And we don't want that to happen! _I_ don't want that to happen! I want your smile to stay warm! I want your voice to stay gentle! And most important of all… I want your eyes to stay that heart-warming color brown!"

Issei widens his eyes at Asia's words. They then softened as he heard her continue to cry.

"Don't worry Asia. I'll make sure it doesn't appear again."

Issei's attention was now on Koneko, who patted Asia's back while looking at Issei with eyes of determination.

"I'll make sure of it," the Gremory Rook continued. "I won't allow you to be taken over by that thing again."

Issei blinked repeatedly at Koneko's vow.

"Koneko-chan…"

Before he could say anymore, Koneko presses her head on his stomach, followed by Rias hugging his neck, making the young man flustered.

"I don't want you to be lost into madness…" Koneko says while her face became scared. "I don't want you to end up like-"

Koneko pauses when she felt Issei's hand pet her head. She widens her eyes and lightly blushes at the gentle contact.

Looking up, Koneko blinks in surprise to see a determined expression from Issei.

"I was way ahead of you. I have _zero_ plans on letting that bastard use my body as his own. And I'm very grateful to all of you that you still see me as me, and that you guys are willing to help out with my situation."

"Hey, don't sweat it, Issei."

Issei's attention was now on Kiba, who was smiling and giving his friend a thumbs up.

"You've helped Buchou and us with the Phenexes, now it's our turn to help you."

"Kiba…"

"He's right Ise."

Rias gently tightens her hug around Issei's neck, bringing his attention to her.

"You've done so much for us. For _me_. Let us help you in making sure your Hollow stays in its place."

Issei's eyes widen once more at his master's words. Shifting them around, he saw that everyone, including Sirzechs, was smiling at him in agreement with Rias.

His eyes then softened, tears building up in them. He really did expect Sirzechs to demand his sister to lock him up because of his inner Hollow being able to possess him. But instead of labeling him as a dangerous monster, Sirzechs offered help when he first showed up, and thanked him for saving Rias. Plus, everyone still sees him as _him_.

"Thank you… All of you…"

Rias rests her head onto his and widens her smile, reassuring him that everything will be okay.

Issei then remembered what Sirzechs said earlier about a group that was going to help him. Wanting to know more, he turns his head towards the Devil King, getting his attention.

"Hang on. You've said something earlier about a group that can help me out."

Sirzechs made a look of realization and laughed to himself.

"Ah! Yes. The people who I've sent to help you won't be arriving for another week. Expect one of the members to see you when that week arrives."

"Okay…" Issei says. "But who are they?"

"Long story short, since I need to head back to the Underworld, me being a Maou and all, these guys share the same Hollow power as you do, and they can help you control it like they're able to with their own."

That made Issei very interested. A group of people who too have Hollow powers, and are able to control them? How were they able to do it?

Unfortunately, Issei couldn't get an answer, as Sirzechs was making his exit, but not without saying to him:

"I hope to see you again soon, Issei. You are, without a doubt, an interesting boy."

After Sirzechs took his leave via a magic circle, Rias looks towards her servants.

"You can all go home now. I wish to speak with Ise alone."

Her servants nod in reply and begin to walk out of Issei's room, with Kiba waving him goodbye, Koneko doing the same, and Akeno giving him sneaky wink, making Issei's cheeks tinge pink. Yoruichi went ahead and left the room as well, knowing exactly what Rias wanted to talk to him about.

Asia was hesitant at first since she wanted to stay with Issei for a little longer, but she went ahead and took her leave as well.

"Have a good night's sleep, Issei-san."

"Eh?"

Before Issei could question her any further, Asia already left the room and went to her own, leaving the young Devil confused.

"In case you were wondering, it's 9:30 PM."

Issei blinked in surprise at Rias' explanation on why Asia said what she said before leaving. He then sees Rias climb onto his bed and sit next to his left.

After she got comfortable, Rias grabs onto Issei's hand and uses her other hand to trace her finger up and down on Issei's left arm, making him blush slightly at her actions.

"You silly boy," Rias began. "To give up your arm just to save me."

Issei chuckled at her words while scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

"Hey, it was worth it," he defended. "Besides, I can transform it back into its human form once I get to work on it. I'm technically a Humanoid Dragon now because of it, so it's nothing to worry about."

Rias giggles at her Pawn's response, but she then frowned with softened eyes.

"You know, the engagement may be over, but it won't be the last we hear of it."

"Then I'll give up my other arm, and my eyes if I have to," Issei counters, surprising the redhead. "I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe. No one, not even my Hollow counterpart will stop me. I'll always be there to protect you, and everyone else I care about."

"Ise…"

Rias widens her eyes with pink cheeks when Issei said those words to her. He sounded so honest, she believed him immediately.

"I am your Pawn after all," Issei continues with a wink towards her. "It is my job, isn't it?" He then closes his eyes with a wider smile. "I mean come on, you've done so much for me, it's the least I can d-"

Issei wasn't able to finish his sentence as he suddenly felt something come in contact with his lips. Opening his eyes to see what was going on, he widened his eyes and blushed a dark shade of red to discover that Rias was kissing him, eyes closed.

'Holy…'

" _Crap!"_

The Chibi Issei finishes his sentence for him while staring at Rias with the same wide eyes of surprise as the real one's.

Rias kept her lips onto his for five more seconds before removing them. She then moved some strands of her hair out of the way while licking her lips, followed by a smile when she saw Issei's flustered face.

"That was my first kiss," Rias says to him. "It's a bit of a monumental moment for a young woman, isn't it?"

"Um… I'm not quite sure how to respond to that…"

Rias giggles at how shy he was behaving when he answered that.

"If it makes you feel any better, I enjoyed it."

Issei blushes another shade of red when he heard that.

"Also," Rias continued, getting his attention. "Starting now, I've decided that I'm going to be living with you at your home."

"WHAT?!" Issei shouted out, but quiet enough so he wouldn't disturb Asia and his parents.

"I've talked to your mother and father about it," she explains. "And they were kind enough to let me stay here." She then muffles a giggle in her hand. "Though, I did get a jealous glare from Asia-chan."

Issei raised an eyebrow at how she explained how she got to live in his home.

"I'm getting the impression you hypnotized them again…"

Rias giggles again, making Issei's worries increase.

"Aww, Ise, of course I didn't do that."

Issei deadpans with furrowed brows.

"I somehow don't believe you."

Sensing the slight anger in his voice, Rias puts her hands up in defense while a small drop of sweat ran down her forehead.

"I swear, Ise! I really didn't do it! If anything, it was your father who allowed it! You know, him wanting you to get a girlfriend!"

Rias then smiles at Issei as she crawls towards him.

"And the craziest part was when he said he didn't mind you having multiple girlfriends."

Rias jumps in surprise when she saw Issei face fault off of his bed.

"Buchou…" Issei muffles from the floor. "Mom struck him in the head after he said that, did she?"

Rias blinks twice before answering:

"Yeah..?"

Issei gets himself off the floor and dusts himself off.

"Okay, good to know."

Issei then sets his eyes on Rias.

"So… Do you have a room?"

Issei raises an eyebrow when he saw Rias blush while touching her two index fingers together.

"I do… But… I was hoping that maybe I could… Sleep here with you for the night..?"

Issei does a spit take at her request. He knew that if she slept here, that would mean she would be completely naked since she sleeps this way.

Rias notices his spit take and tilts her head to the side.

"Is there a problem?"

Issei shoots his head towards Rias with a dark blush on his cheeks.

"Well… You do sleep in the nude… and…"

"So what? You sleep in your boxer shorts, don't you?"

"That's not the point!" Issei argues. "It's just that… well… I just might…"

"Feel uncomfortable?"

Issei tried to look for proper words to respond to that question, but he nods in defeat, looking away in embarrassment.

This earned a giggle from Rias.

"Come now, Ise. You slept with me while I was naked before."

"Yeah, but that was when I was out cold," counters Issei with a deadpan.

Rias pouts at Issei while removing her socks from her feet. He sighs at her pout and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Fine, I'll let you sleep here for the night."

Hearing that made Rias smile happily and she immediately removed all of her clothes, minus her purple bra and panties.

"Too fast!" Issei exclaims.

Blushing, he then went ahead to remove his shirt and pants, leaving him with nothing but his crimson boxer shorts.

"*Gulp*!" 'Well… At least it's not going _that_ route…'

* * *

After the two got settled in bed, Issei made sure to stay as far way from Rias as possible. It's not that he doesn't like being near her, it's just that he wasn't in the mood to deal with any skin to skin contact tonight.

Sighing quietly, Issei turns his head to Rias. She was sleeping peacefully, with her face facing him.

'Man… I didn't expect things to turn out like this.'

Issei positions his body so that his entire front was facing upwards and looks towards the ceiling.

'Well, as long as Buchou's happy, then I'm happy as well,' Issei says in his thoughts as he slowly starts to smile. 'After all, as her Ultimate Pawn, it's my duty to make sure that she, as well as everyone else I care about, are safe.' Issei takes his left hand out from under the sheets and balls into a fist in front of him. 'And I _will_ do whatever I can to make sure it stays this way.'

"Mmm~"

"Huh?"

Issei turns his head left when he heard Rias mumble in her sleep. Upon setting his eyes on her, he widens his eyes in surprise when she gently grabbed his head and slowly place it in between her breasts.

Issei's cheeks turn as red as a tomato when he felt her breasts make contact with his left cheek. When Yoruichi did that to him, she still had her bra on. But Rias wasn't wearing anything. He was literally feeling his master's pink nipples make contact with his left cheek.

Looking up towards Rias' face, not wanting to stare too long at her naked breasts, he notices that she was smiling contently in her sleep while stroking his hair with two of her fingers.

Issei blinked twice at her actions. He then lets out a sigh and couldn't help but smile.

'Usually I'd freak out even more than now. Hmm… Maybe it's thanks to Yoruichi sleeping with me in her human form when we were out training.'

With that said in his thoughts, Issei closes his eyes and falls asleep in Rias' chest.

'Welp, today is another day.'

 _ **Phenex Bird arc: The End…**_

* * *

 _~OVA Epilogue time!~_

"Haaaaaaaah~. Issei-kun, my man, you get better with every massage session."

Aika Kiryuu sighs out in pleasure as Issei continued to massage her back while she was lying on her bed. After school finished up today, one of Issei's contracts, Aika Kiryuu, called him up to make up the time he missed since he was gone for ten days to train for a Rating Game. Because of this, Issei had to explain to the best of his ability on why he was gone, and ended up with telling her that it was a club trip with the Occult Research club.

"So, that's why you were gone?" Aika asks him as he got through with the explanation. While some of it was the truth, the parts that he had to take out were when he had to fight for Buchou's freedom in a Rating Game.

"Yup," Issei replies nonchalantly as he presses down on her back harder, earning him a smile from Aika as she enjoyed that feeling from the massage. "I'm really sorry I wasn't able to get to you last week."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Aika assures him while smiling at him. "Orders are orders from the club president. It's understandable."

Issei sighs a breath of relief, thankful that she understood why he was gone.

"But,"

Issei sets his attention back to his pact as she continued speaking.

"I may have to make you do something to make up for that missed week."

Issei became nervous when she said that, seeing her face look pervy.

"Uh… Like what..?"

Giggling, Aika lied back down on her front and started shaking her rear end at him.

"Well, you could rub my butt~."

"WHAT?!"

Aika laughs at Issei's flustered reaction and winked at the young man.

"Just messing with ya!" she rests her head on her folded arms while looking at him cutely. "You really are fun to tease, you know that, Issei-kun?"

Issei pouts at her with his arms crossed in front of him.

"You really do enjoy teasing me, don't you?"

"Ufufu~. Maybe."

Issei rolls his eyes at her answer. He then hears his device buzz, signaling that his time with his pact is over.

"Well, I guess I better head off. See you at school."

"Aww. Already?"

Issei saw the playful pout on her lips and scratched the back of his head with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, sorry. Buchou is expecting me back."

Since his eyes were still closed, Issei failed to notice Aika getting up to a sitting position on her bed and began to lift one of her legs.

By the time he opened his eyes, they widen when he saw Aika slowly hover her bare foot towards his chest. His cheeks turn red at the contact, despite him still wearing his school shirt.

Smirking, Aika drags her foot upwards on his chest until it reaches towards his necklace. She then grabs the sapphire crystal in between her big and index toes.

"I see you're still wearing the price I gave you for the pact back when I asked for a foot rub," she says to him, her eyes softening with a pleasant smile.

"Y-Y-Yeah," Issei replies shyly due to how close her foot was to his face since she held the crystal in front of him with it. "It looked really cool, so I kept wearing it.

Hearing that made Aika's smile wider.

"I'm glad you like it. To be honest, every time I see you at school with that on, it makes me happy."

Issei blinks three times in surprise by Aika's statement.

"Really? It does?"

"You bet."

Aika releases his crystal from her toes and puts her foot down.

"Well, see you later," Aika waves goodbye to Issei as she sees him under the transportation circle.

"Yeah, see you."

POOF!

After Issei made his exit, Aika falls on her bed on her back and stares at her ceiling.

"Man, no wonder why Murayama and Asia have the hots for Issei-kun."

Aika was in thought for a few moments until a thought popped up in her head.

"Hmm… I wonder… can Devils have harems?"

Thinking about that question, a smirk forms on her face when she came up with an idea.

"Well, it should explain how Akeno-senpai was teasing him earlier at school with Asia pouting at her."

After giving her question to herself some further thought, Aika giggled to herself as she crossed her legs and rubbed her feet together.

"If that's the case, then Murayama and I may still have a chance~."

Having made up her mind rather quickly, Aika sat up on her bed and was now hatching up a plan to help out Murayama with her crush on Issei.

 _~OVA Epilogue end~_

* * *

 **Author's note: Yes! The Phenex Bird arc is complete!**

 _Chibi Issei: "Woot woot!"_

 **Finally! After many delays due to school work, I finally got it out. With the SOLs right around the corner for me, I wanted to get this out as soon as possible, so I apologize if this chapter was rushed in some places.**

 **But hey, it's a happy ending for this arc. Issei saves Rias from the arranged marriage with Riser, and everyone's happy. But… Issei does have to deal with his inner Hollow being able to take over his body like he did with his fight against Riser, and with the future help of a group Sirzechs calls: _The Masked Exorcists_ , he will be able to get control over his mask soon enough.**

 **Now, who are the Masked Exorcists? Basically, they are this Fanfiction's version of the Visoreds, with Shinji Hirako as the leader of the group. Only difference is that instead of them being Shinigami, they're a group of freelancing exorcists that only work for causes that aren't a bad thing to them.**

 **Anyways, with this chapter published, I believe it's time I take a break from writing and get prepared for the SOLs. After all, I do have a life to live.**

 _Chibi Issei: "I sure as Hell need a break! After all of the crazy crap the real me has been through, with Akeno humping him, and the Devil girls getting too close to him at the baths, I just wanna friggin rest and not have to worry about him passing out over girls using certain measures to seduce him!"_

 **Right… Anyway, I expect to come back from my break sometime in June. However, that does not mean that work on _The Masked Dragon Emperor_ will immediately resume. Don't get me wrong, the series _will_ continue, I just want to try something new for my comeback from my SOL studying hiatus. Maybe create a temporary one shot or more. I'm telling you guys, I have so many ideas for more DXD fanfics, I just want to get them out at least as temporary one shots to get them out of my brain.**

 **Okay, with that out of the way, I'd also like to take this time to thank you for 488 favorites and 543 follows. It's quite a milestone for me to have this many supporters, and I know I repeat myself in these thank yous, but I can't thank you enough.**

 **Next chapter: "The sword in the picture; Kiba's mysterious past."; Issei begins to worry for his friend, Kiba after seeing how he behaved after looking at one of his photos.**

 **Issei's current harem (In no particular order): Yoruichi, Tsubaki, Akeno, Rias, Asia, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Tsubasa, Reya, Ravel, Siris, Isabela, Karlamine, Mira, Marion, Aika, Kiyome, Murayama.**

 **Until then, wish me luck on those damn SOLS. My brain wasn't structured to remember so much knowledge for them! ;~;**


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